Why China’s humanoid robot industry is winning the early market

China’s Humanoid Robot Revolution: From Kung Fu Flips to Global Manufacturing Dominance

In a stunning display of technological prowess, China’s humanoid robots have captured the world’s attention, performing gravity-defying kung fu flips at the nation’s televised Spring Festival Gala. This spectacle is just the tip of the iceberg in China’s rapidly expanding humanoid robotics industry, which is now set to take center stage at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, where Chinese phone maker Honor will unveil its first humanoid robot.

The rise of China’s humanoid robots is not a coincidence but a strategic move outlined in the country’s “Made in China 2025” plan. While initially focused on factory automation, rapid advances in multimodal AI have accelerated the development of embodied AI – autonomous machines capable of operating in the real world. Chinese officials see this as a potential solution to labor shortages and a driver of productivity gains.

According to Selina Xu, a China and AI policy lead at the office of Eric Schmidt, Chinese companies are outpacing their U.S. rivals in both speed and volume. “China has a more robust hardware supply chain – much of it built up through the EV sector, from sensors to batteries – and the world’s strongest manufacturing base, allowing companies to iterate far faster than Western competitors,” Xu told TechCrunch.

This advantage is evident in the numbers. Chinese robots are not only cheaper but also released more quickly. Leading Chinese player Unitree shipped roughly 36 times more units last year than U.S. rivals Figure and Tesla. Global humanoid robot shipments totaled just 13,317 units last year, according to a Forbes report. However, this tiny base is expected to nearly double annually, reaching 2.6 million units by 2035.

The top humanoid robot makers by 2025 shipments were led by China’s Agibot and Unitree, followed by UBTech, Leju Robotics, Engine AI, and Fourier Intelligence, underscoring Beijing’s early dominance in the sector.

The biggest shift in the industry has been from “demo-driven excitement” to “operations-driven adoption,” according to Yuli Zhao, chief strategy officer at Galbot. Galbot’s humanoid robot, the G1, appeared at this year’s Spring Festival Gala alongside robots from Unitree Robotics, Noetix, and MagicLab.

“More customers are asking: Can the robot run stably in real environments and actually take work off people’s plates? That practical pull is strengthened in China because policy and industrial strategy encourage automation upgrades, and the manufacturing ecosystem makes iteration extremely fast,” Zhao said.

While increased funding toward humanoid startups has accelerated progress, Zhao believes that “the most durable adoption comes when you can show reliable and repeatable value in production or service operations, not just a one-off showcase.”

Chinese robotics makers are securing significant investments. Last year, Unitree was valued at around $3 billion after closing its Series C, with ambitions to reach as much as $7 billion in a future IPO. Meanwhile, Galbot has raised more than $300 million in fresh funding, reportedly pushing its valuation to $3 billion – one of the largest financings in China’s humanoid robotics sector to date.

U.S. companies are also moving beyond flashy demos to focus on real-world deployments. Plus, they are pursuing their own aggressive goals. U.S. startup Foundation, for instance, plans to build 50,000 humanoid robots by the end of 2027.

However, China is already targeting a mix of affordable mass-market models and high-end applications, rapidly expanding humanoids across industrial, consumer, and rehabilitation sectors. The country’s leadership in this field is best understood as a “speed-to-scale advantage,” according to Zhao. “The ecosystem here compresses the entire cycle – R&D, supply chain, manufacturing, integration, and customer deployment – into a very tight loop. That means humanoid companies can move from prototype to real-world deployment faster, learn from real operations, and iterate at a pace that’s difficult to match elsewhere.”

Despite China’s dominance, there are still bottlenecks to its continued leadership. When it comes to AI systems and integrated software, it’s still unclear where Chinese humanoid firms truly stand. The industry is largely betting on vision-language-action models and “world models,” but both technologies remain in early stages. Nvidia currently leads the space with its end-to-end humanoid software stack, and most humanoid startups in China are powered by Nvidia’s Orin chips.

Safety is another major hurdle for humanoid robots. One high-profile accident could trigger public backlash, and China is likely weighing how to roll out the technology quickly without moving too fast. As the industry matures, more regulations are expected.

Given the current limitations, Zhao believes that demand for humanoids will grow first in fairly contained workplaces. “Early momentum is likely to be in industrial manufacturing, warehouse logistics, and retail, where tasks are repetitive, hours are long, and processes are clear – creating real demand and ideal conditions for humanoid robots to deliver value at scale,” he said.

It’s important to note that humanoid robot development is not a two-country race. Japan’s robotics ecosystem, from startups to semiconductor heavyweights, is targeting humanoid mass production by 2027. Long a pioneer through projects like Honda’s Asimo, Murata Manufacturing’s Murata Boy, and SoftBank Robotics’ Pepper, Japan leans on precision and advanced control. One unique area for Japan is the use of humanoid robots in eldercare.

Hyundai Motor’s Boston Dynamics unit has also entered the fray, introducing a new Atlas humanoid for factory use by 2028, with plans to produce up to 30,000 units annually in the U.S. as part of its AI-driven robotics push.

As the humanoid robot race heats up, one thing is clear: China’s combination of government policy, industrial strategy, labor shortages, and private capital is turbocharging the country’s push in this field. Whether they can maintain their lead as the technology matures and other countries ramp up their efforts remains to be seen. But for now, China’s humanoid robots are flipping their way into the future, one kung fu move at a time.

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