CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: China-made humanoid robots set sights on Middle East and U.S. markets - CNBC
His goal this year is to improve voice commands – eliminating the need for remote controls that still underpin many robot demos today, such as performing a somersault on command.
Key takeaways
The most recent coverage shows that humanoid robots are moving from prototype showcases toward larger‑scale commercial use. By the end of 2025, global installations topped 16,000 units, with Shanghai‑based AgiBot leading the market and accounting for about 31 % of deployments, while Unitree, UBTech, and Tesla each held double‑digit shares; Tesla’s Optimus Gen 2 and Gen 2.5 contributed roughly five percent of the total. Chinese firms are expanding business models, offering lower‑cost platforms for service‑focused roles and introducing robot‑as‑a‑service leasing for live performances, retail and promotions. In the United States, Oversonic Robotics launched the RoBee humanoid for healthcare and aerospace, and Fauna Robotics introduced Sprout, a compact, soft‑exterior robot aimed at homes, schools and social spaces. LimX Dynamics announced its COSA agentic‑AI operating system and began shipping several thousand units to the Middle East for research and service trials, with plans to enter the U.S. market. In the industrial arena, Boston Dynamics demonstrated its Atlas humanoid performing tasks at Hyundai’s new EV plant in Savannah, Georgia, following a partnership with DeepMind’s Gemini foundation models, while Microsoft revealed its Rho‑alpha vision‑language‑action model to give robots greater perception and autonomy. Supporting components are also advancing: Tesollo released a lighter 20‑DoF DG‑5F‑S hand to improve dexterity on humanoid platforms. Together, these developments indicate accelerating adoption across logistics, manufacturing, hospitality and consumer environments, though analysts note that safety, battery life and cost remain key hurdles before widespread deployment outside controlled settings.
His goal this year is to improve voice commands – eliminating the need for remote controls that still underpin many robot demos today, such as performing a somersault on command. Zhang aims to do this with agentic artificial intelligence, an advanced form of AI that can make a chain of decisions autonomously to complete a task.
Earlier this month, LimX announced an agentic AI “operating system” called COSA, designed to enable robots to adjust body motion in real time, such as when handling tennis balls.
2026 marks only the beginning of LimX’s three-year plan to deliver several thousand humanoid robots to the Middle East, primarily for research and development, and to build case studies on how the robots can perform services for humans. Plans for the U.S. haven’t yet been fleshed out. During my visits to China’s “Silicon Valley,” Shenzhen, over the last two years, I saw humanoid startup LimX Dynamics move from a bare-bones facility to a modern office tower with sweeping views — and bolder ambitions.
Now, the company is exploring business collaborations in the U.S., founder Will Zhang told me in an exclusive interview last week. Just days earlier, the startup showed off its humanoid robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
It’s all part of LimX’s push to go global through local partners, including investors.
First on the roadmap is the Middle East. The startup has already secured its first foreign backer from the region, where LimX plans to start shipping humanoids this year, Zhang said. Limx Dynamics
Competition with Elon Musk
LimX is not alone. Several other Chinese humanoid robot companies such as Unitree showed off their humanoids at CES. They join an increasing number of China-based consumer electronics companies exploring the U.S. market.
It’s all a sign of how pressure is mounting for Elon Musk’s humanoid robot plans, not just from U.S. rival Figure AI but also from Chinese companies ramping up humanoid deliveries globally.
Last year, about 13,000 humanoids were shipped worldwide, according to research firm Omdia. Chinese companies, led by Agibot, dominated the top five by shipments. Figure ranked seventh, while Tesla was ninth. Omdia said Tesla has shipped Optimus humanoid robot units to business clients, but not to the public yet.
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