DeepSeek takes stake in Unitree IPO, signs robotics AI pact

DeepSeek's parent entity joined Unitree Robotics' Shanghai STAR Market IPO as a strategic placement investor on August 6, buying 933,400 shares (about 141 million yuan, roughly $20.8 million) under a three-year lock-up, alongside Tencent and several state-backed institutions. Beyond the investment, the two companies agreed to co-develop AI models and embodied-intelligence technology and to give each other priority access to robot procurement and AI model services, marking DeepSeek's first disclosed move into humanoid robotics.