CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Humanoid robots are great, but they need buyers too

The big story

Just weeks after opening in late April, a humanoid factory in Beijing says it's already produced 300 robots for clients — as it ramps up toward 10,000 this year.

The 20-year-old smartphone and electronics manufacturer Lingyi iTech aims to expand annual production to 500,000 a year by 2030. Producing robots at that scale could halve the price of a humanoid, which now runs about $30,000, said the company's Vice President Philip Yang.

Over 100 humanoid start-ups in China are racing to develop household helpers. Some robots can already dance and serve coffee.

The question is: Who is buying them?

The majority of humanoid orders so far are just one or two robots, said Bain's Beijing-based partner Xin Cheng. He's watching whether companies make repeat orders. WATCH LIVE

Key Points

A Chinese humanoid factory says robot prices can drop significantly as production scale ramps. It's less clear who will buy the robots as they remain in development. Analysts are also watching who can best integrate the robots with software systems.

A Lingyi iTech factory in Beijing is ramping up production of humanoid robots for various startups.

CNBC | Evelyn Cheng

Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a snapshot of what I'm seeing and hearing from local businesses.

Humanoids are popping up everywhere, even reshaping a smartphone manufacturer. If it's a bubble, who survives?

The big story Chinese authorities are also eager to drum up customers. Beijing opened a showroom in August filled with robots including a soccer-playing humanoid Booster T1 for 199,000 yuan (about $29,400), and a 349,999 yuan R1 Pro made by start-up Galaxea, which can sort packages.

Cumulative orders surpassed 30 million yuan as of late May, a representative for the store said.

But the showroom reflects how broadly humanoids are defined: The Booster T1 is the size of a child, while the human adult-sized R1 Pro has wheels instead of feet.

Software is key