Wang Xingxing, the student who failed English and is now leading the humanoid robotics race | Economy and Business | EL PAÍS English
Wang, who serves as both chief executive and chief technology officer, initially wanted nothing to do with humanoid robots. The sector was still in its infancy and demand was virtually nonexistent.
Key takeaways
- The most recent developments show that China is advancing both commercial and military applications of humanoid robots.
- On September 8 2026, XPeng announced that its IRON humanoid robot has walked autonomously off a newly commissioned, more than 80 percent automated production line, marking a shift from prototype demonstrations to scaled manufacturing and a plan to begin mass production by the end of 2026, with initial deployments in XPeng stores and campuses before broader commercial launch in 2027.
- A day earlier, Reuters reported that the People’s Liberation Army is urging researchers to accelerate the transfer of cutting‑edge humanoid technologies to military training grounds after the World Humanoid Robot Games, and disclosed a June 2026 PLA procurement of roughly $300,000 for a system to collect and label camera, radar and motion data to improve robot perception and terrain navigation.
- Counterpoint Research highlighted that 2026 is an inflection point for the sector, noting shipments of humanoid robots exceeding 50,000 units this year and a government‑backed initiative to cultivate over 10,000 units across more than 100 high‑value scenarios by year‑end.
- Long‑term market forecasts remain bullish, with Berg Insight projecting annual shipments to rise from 16,000 units in 2026 to 26 million by 2040, underscoring a rapid transition from experimental prototypes to large‑scale production and deployment.
Wang, who serves as both chief executive and chief technology officer, initially wanted nothing to do with humanoid robots. The sector was still in its infancy and demand was virtually nonexistent. According to Wang, interest in humanoid machines surged thanks to Elon Musk’s enthusiasm for the technology and rapid advances in artificial intelligence. In February 2023, a three-person team at Unitree began working on transforming one of the company’s quadruped robots into a bipedal machine. In August that same year, the company unveiled the H1 humanoid robot. They can perform seemingly impossible acrobatics, execute precise dance routines and even beat Usain Bolt’s 100-meter record, albeit while crashing into a safety mat at the finish line. But while they excel at carefully choreographed feats in controlled environments, they still struggle to carry out simple commands in the real world. Speaking at the World Robot Conference in Beijing last August, Wang said that the “ChatGPT moment” for humanoid robots, the breakthrough that could transform the industry, is still at least two or three years away in the most optimistic scenario and perhaps as many as 10 years away in the least favorable one. “It won’t happen overnight,” he warned in Time. The robot revolution, and perhaps any robot uprising as well, will have to wait. Over the past two years, videos of Unitree robots dancing alongside humans and performing in martial arts exhibitions have gone viral around the world. Yet for now, the rise of these machines remains more of a social phenomenon than an industrial revolution. Their capabilities and practical applications are still limited, and relatively few are being used for productive or genuinely useful tasks. According to Time magazine, nearly three-quarters of the humanoid robots sold by Unitree are purchased by universities, independent developers and research institutions. Another 17% go to commercial venues, while only 9% end up in industrial settings.
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