Unitree's Early History: From a 200 RMB Dorm Robot to a 2M Angel Investment
Unitree's founding was driven by the creator's early passion for robotics engineering and hands-on talent. During his freshman winter break in 2009, he spent just 200元 to hand-build a 14自由度双足人形机器人 in his dorm, matching the performance of commercial products costing tens of thousands of yuan. After missing the cutoff for Zhejiang University by a few points in English and being redirected to Shanghai University, he developed the XDog project. He made a contrarian technical call: abandoning the expensive and heavy hydraulic route in favor of direct drive using 外转子无刷电机. Handling the structure, motors, and code entirely on his own, he pushed the total cost under 2万元 and won an 8万元 prize in a competition.
已确认
- In 2016, the company was established in a 50平米 unmarked office in Binjiang, Hangzhou. Angel investor 尹方鸣 invested 200万元 without even signing an agreement, at a 1300万 valuation.
- After a test video of XDog went viral overseas, the founder, who had already been at DJI for over two months, decisively resigned to pursue the startup.
- The founder missed the English requirement for Zhejiang University and was redirected to Shanghai University, and he also voluntarily delayed his graduation by half a year while developing XDog.
为什么重要
Unitree's origin story highlights a blend of geek spirit and a contrarian technical approach. At a time when Boston Dynamics' hydraulic route dominated the globe, the founder entered the market with a low-cost direct-drive motor solution. This not only achieved a technical breakthrough but also paved a viable path for the commercialization of 四足机器人.
2026-08-10 ~ 2026-08-10 · 6 related posts
Primary sources
- Building a 200 RMB Humanoid Robot in College That Rivaled 10k RMB Products — yangyi · 2026-08-10
- Failing Zhejiang University Entrance Exam Led to a Robot Innovator at Shanghai University — yangyi · 2026-08-10
- [source] Counterintuitive Tech Bet: Why Unitree Abandoned Hydraulics for Direct Drive Motors — yangyi · 2026-08-10
- Solo Engineering: Unitree Founder Handwrote Code and Built Motors for XDog — yangyi · 2026-08-10
- [source] XDog Wins 80k RMB Prize with Under 20k Cost, Prompting Founder to Leave DJI — yangyi · 2026-08-10
- [source] Unitree's Early Days: Started in a 50sqm Office, Secured 2M Angel Investment — yangyi · 2026-08-10