Key facts
- China aims for over 10,000 commercial humanoid robots by the end of 2026.
- A national program seeks to integrate robots into manufacturing, logistics, retail, and healthcare.
- Government directives require implementation plans by June and progress reports by November.
- Spirit AI, Zhiyuan Robotics, Robotera, and Unitree Technology are among involved companies.
- Unitree Technology secured approval for a 4.2 billion yuan IPO.
China is accelerating the commercialization of humanoid robots and embodied artificial intelligence, with a national initiative aiming to deploy over 10,000 units by the end of 2026. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission have jointly issued a directive encouraging local governments and state-owned enterprises to integrate these robots into various sectors, including manufacturing, logistics, retail, and healthcare.
Several companies are already involved in this push. Spirit AI's Xiaomo robot underwent final battery-pack testing at a Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) facility in December 2025. Zhiyuan Robotics livestreamed its robots performing assembly-line tasks at a tablet factory operated by Longcheer Technology in April 2026. X Square Robot announced plans for its machines to enter households by late May 2026. Robotera has partnered with China Post and SF Express to deploy robots in over 10 logistics centers, reportedly achieving up to 85% of human work efficiency.
In the startup space, Galbot and Galaxea AI have reached valuations exceeding 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion). Unitree Technology, a leading humanoid robot developer, received regulatory approval on June 1, 2026, for an initial public offering to raise 4.2 billion yuan. Additionally, PaXini Tech and Joyful Embodied are establishing large-scale data collection factories in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Fujian to support open-source datasets and AI model development for humanoid robots.