China humanoid robot makers hold 97% of shipments in H1, report says - Taipei Times

Although the number of humanoid robots deployed in commercially productive roles remains small, China’s policy support and funding from different levels of governments are helping accelerate their path into the mainstream.

The prioritization of such robotics was on full display at the World AI Conference in Shanghai last month, where dozens of robot makers unveiled advances in dexterity, speed and capabilities.

An important shift is also under way in how the robots are being used.

“Industrial and commercial applications accounted for more than 70 percent of shipments, up from approximately 50 percent a year earlier,” Smart Analytics Global founder and principal researcher Linda Sui (隋倩)said. Regulatory uncertainty and geopolitical risks could shape the industry’s next phase of growth, she added.

Separately, the highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) of Unitree drew huge demand from retail investors as China’s leading humanoid robot maker opened books in Shanghai.

The retail portion of the IPO was 5,526 times subscribed, with individual investors submitting 9.8 million orders, according to an exchange filing released yesterday.

The company sold 40.4 million shares at 150.8 yuan apiece, raising about 6.1 billion yuan (US$904 million) to become mainland China’s first publicly traded humanoid robot maker.

The company is expected to debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market this month. The offering gives Unitree a market value of approximately 61 billion yuan. Technology Co (智元創新) overtook Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics (宇樹科技) to claim the top spot in market share, capturing 44 percent of global shipments with 8,400 units in the six-month period, compared with Unitree’s 5,900 units.

Their volumes dwarf shipments from top US companies such as Tesla Inc, Figure AI Inc and Agility Robotics Inc, underscoring the pace of development within China.

Late last month, the US banned imports of new Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots, along with certain components, citing national security and cybersecurity risks to critical US artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.