Automation enabled by intelligent robots will allow for a massive expansion in production capacity across industries, and China is currently “the only country that is positioned” to achieve a high level of automation, according to a report published last week by U.S.-based independent research company SemiAnalysis. “China’s robotics localization effort is well under way,” the report said. It pointed out that Chinese manufacturers’ share in the world’s largest robotics market was approaching 50%, up from 30% in 2020. “While Chinese manufacturers are currently on par with Western giants in the low-end market, our supply chain review leads us to believe that local firms are beginning to take over the higher-end market segments.” The rise of Unitree Robotics exemplifies that shift. The Hangzhou-based start-up makes “the only viable humanoid robot on the market”, according to the report. It pointed out that Unitree’s G1 robot was also “entirely decoupled from American components”.
Should China achieve full-scale automation “without the U.S. following suit”, it would pose “an existential threat” to the world’s largest economy, according to the report. That scenario would see China benefit from a “massive expansion in production capacities supported by intelligent robotics systems”. The assessment made by SemiAnalysis researchers reflects the success of China’s strategy to push forward industrial automation, as part of broader efforts to upgrade its economy amid a deepening tech rivalry with the U.S. Manufacturing dominance is key in robotics, as the field involves fine-tuning and repeated recreation of a robot to achieve a functional, scalable and cost-effective product, according to the report. “The impact of this in robotics will be exponential,” the report said. “There will be robotics systems manufacturing more robotics systems, and with each unit produced, the cost will be driven down continuously and the quality will improve.” At present, building a robot arm modeled after Danish firm Universal Robots’ UR5e in the U.S. is about twice more expensive than making one in China, according to the report.
China recorded 470 robots per 10,000 employees in 2023, up from 402 a year earlier, according to the World Robotics 2024 report published in November. The country now ranks third in the ratio of robots to factory workers, after South Korea and Singapore.
Shanghai-based start-up Agibot, founded by Huawei Technologies’ former “Genius Youth” recruit Peng Zhihui, recently launched an AI model that can enable humanoid robots to understand and perform real-world tasks quickly. Agibot’s Genie Operator-1 model has been designed to serve as a general-purpose brain for humanoid robots. Robots “will be able to understand instructions in natural language and perform reasoning, rather than being limited to preprogrammed routines”, the company said in a statement. China is already a leading player in the global robotics ecosystem, according to a report by Morgan Stanley last month. Of the 100 publicly-traded companies worldwide Morgan Stanley identified that were “confirmed to be involved” in developing humanoids, 56% were based in China. The country is also home to 45% of the world’s integrators, which are enterprises that customize robots to match end-user needs. Shenzhen-based UBTech Robotics expects to deliver about 500 to 1,000 units of its Walker S Series industrial humanoid robot this year to customers and partners, including car makers and Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group.
“We’re paying much more attention to the investment into AI, finding all the solutions to raise the money to invest in the capabilities of the humanoid robots,” UBTech Chief Brand Officer Michael Tam said in January. In the first two months of this year in China, nearly CNY2 billion in new venture-capital funding went to humanoid robot makers across 20 deals, up from CNY1.2 billion generated from four transactions a year earlier, according to data from market tracker ITJuzi, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
Meanwhile, UBTech Robotics has unveiled a life-size humanoid robot for research purposes, priced at CNY299,000 as China’s robotics industry strives to produce advanced products at more affordable prices, ahead of Tesla’s expected mass production of its Optimus robot later this year. The Tien Kung Xingzhe – developed in collaboration with the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, also known as X-Humanoid – is now available for pre-order, with deliveries expected to start in the second quarter. Standing at 1.7 meters, the Tien Kung Xingzhe is an upgraded version of the Tien Kung model released last April. The new model is designed for research applications that demand enhanced strength and stability, and offers the flexibility to integrate additional components such as lidars, Nvidia’s Jetson Orin computing kit and five-fingered hands.
SemiAnalysis' report “America is Missing the New Labor Economy – Robotics Part 1” is available here
