Inside China’s bold push to build humanoid robots: Here are 5 companies that are leading the charge
What if we told you…
China produces nearly 90% of humanoid robot components.
Over 74,000 robotics firms are based in Shenzhen, creating one of the world’s densest tech ecosystems.
China has poured $20 billion into humanoid robots over the past year alone.
Beijing is establishing a one trillion yuan ($137 billion) fund to support startups in areas like AI and robotics.
Morgan Stanley estimates the market for humanoid robots will surpass $5 trillion by 2050, with up to 1 billion robots in operation. And China will be leading the charge.
If you search for robots online or log onto social media, you would probably have come across clips showing humanoid robots handling different tasks on the factory floor, dancing with humans on national TV, or even running a marathon in China. While many of these robots are still work in progress, they offer a fascinating glimpse into a future that is fast unfolding before our eyes.
In April, 21 humanoid robots lined up for a half marathon alongside humans in Beijing. Most did not make it, some malfunctioned, others toppled over. Only six made it across the finish line. Tiangong Ultra, the humanoid winner, took 2 hours and 40 minutes to finish – more than double the time needed by an elite runner – with three battery swaps and a fall along the way.
But this was never about speed or even crossing the finish line. Rather, the event demonstrated China’s ability to remove these robots from controlled environments and get them to operate in unpredictable, real-world conditions.
China’s lead in humanoid robotics is no accident. It’s the result of a deliberate, multi-layered strategy that combines top-down policy and R&D ingenuity with bottom-up manufacturing power.
First, there’s the hardware edge: China produces nearly 90% of the core components - actuators, sensors, batteries, and AI chips - that go into humanoid robots, giving it speed and cost advantages few countries can match. Then there’s policy coordination: cities like Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hangzhou have launched specialized funding programs, humanoid development zones, and industrial testbeds to accelerate deployment.
China’s R&D prowess is equally formidable, with institutions like Tsinghua and Peking Universities and research centers in Shenzhen and Zhejiang Lab driving breakthroughs in motion planning, multimodal perception, and embodied AI, backed by over $90 million in targeted funding from the Key Special Program on Intelligent Robots since 2022.
Finally, China’s dense supply chain and developer ecosystem, especially in hubs like Shenzhen, allows startups to move from prototype to mass production faster than anywhere else on the planet.
The Engines Behind China’s Robotics Rise
Following are five prominent Chinese companies that are leading the charge into the brave new world of humanoid robots:
Unitree Robotics
Unitree captured global attention when 16 of its H1 humanoid robots appeared in the 2025 Spring Festival Gala, performing a synchronized Yangge folk dance live on national television. The spectacle - watched by hundreds of millions - marked a turning point for China’s robotics industry, transforming humanoids from research-stage novelties into prime-time performers.
Founded in 2016 by Wang Xingxing in Hangzhou, Unitree pioneered commercial sales of high-performance four-legged robots, which make up 60–70% of global shipments and are used in over 50 countries.
But it’s the humanoid line that is rising fast. The H1 is a tall, advanced robot built for industrial tasks, walking on uneven ground, carrying loads, and supporting factory work. It’s already active on EV production lines at companies like Nio and Geely.
The smaller, US$16,000 G1 model weighs just 35kg and can climb stairs, do backflips, and balance on narrow edges. Thanks to its agility and open design, it’s widely used for research, training, and development.
Unitree’s edge lies in full-stack integration: it builds all key components in-house—motors, controllers, LIDAR, and software, allowing it to cut costs and move fast. This vertical model, combined with open-access tools, has made it a global favorite in the robotics community.
AgiBot
Picture this. Humanoid robots folding clothes, arranging utensils at a dining table, plating dishes with extreme precision, and working a checkout counter - all inside a 3,000-square-meter facility that looks more like a Star Wars set. But this isn’t a movie. It’s AgiBot’s data acquisition center in Shanghai.
Founded in 2023 by Peng Zhihui, a former Huawei “Genius Youth” recruit and cult engineering figure in China, AgiBot has quickly become one of the country’s most talked-about humanoid startups. In under two years, it has produced 962 humanoids, and in 2025, it aims to build between 3,000 and 5,000 – a number that would place it far ahead of many global peers.
AgiBot’s ambition is best illustrated through its three humanoid models. The X2, unveiled in early 2025, is a compact, agile robot that can walk, dance with near-human fluidity, and master advanced mobility tasks like riding a scooter, hoverboard, and bicycle. Powered by AgiBot’s in-house WorkGPT model, it understands commands, perceives its environment, and executes tasks autonomously. In service settings, it could potentially greet customers or guide them through stores; in classrooms, it might teach robotics or AI; and in healthcare, it may assist with basic patient support.
Its A2 model is a versatile humanoid with multi-modal interaction capabilities. It’s suitable for interactive services, flexible manufacturing, education, research, and as a stand-in for specialized tasks. And lastly the GO-1, designed for home and hospitality use, can watch videos, follow voice commands, and learn new routines like making toast, pouring drinks, or welcoming guests. Using multimodal learning, a combination of vision, speech, and behavior modeling, it adapts to its surroundings and handles increasingly complex household tasks.
EngineAI
EngineAI, one of China’s youngest but boldest robotics entrants, made headlines when its compact PM01 model became the first humanoid robot to complete a front flip - a feat requiring remarkable balance and control.
The PM01 is the smaller sibling of SE01, EngineAI’s flagship humanoid robot known for its eerily lifelike gait. In early 2025, a video of the SE01 walking fluidly through the streets of Shenzhen went viral, sparking an online debate about whether the footage was real or AI-generated. The movement was so human-like that even a research scientist at NVIDIA stepped in to confirm its authenticity.
Founded in late 2023 by Zhao Tongyang, previously with Xpeng Robotics, EngineAI has quickly emerged as a serious contender in the robotics race. Based in Shenzhen, the startup has focused on movement realism and AI agility over theatrical stunts.
MagicLab (Magic Atom Robotics Technology)
MagicLab’s YouTube channel shows its humanoid robot running outdoors for four minutes straight. Another shows real-world collaboration: robots scanning barcodes, picking parts, and handing them to one another.
The company claims its humanoids can self-learn and refine their walking posture using a motion control network trained through full-body imitation learning. With 6D visual servo technology, the bots execute high-precision tasks and navigate uneven or unpredictable environments thanks to robust anti-interference and anti-shock systems.
Founded in December 2023 and based in Suzhou, MagicLab is part of a new wave of startups transforming China’s industrial base. It develops robots in-house, producing over 90% of core components, including torque motors, actuators, control units, and dexterous hands. Only CPUs are sourced externally.
In December 2024, MagicBots were piloted in a real factory for job training. That trial alongside videos of robots watering plants, dancing, and performing magic tricks, highlights their versatility across industrial and human-like tasks.
Kepler Robotics
Of all the robots we’ve featured, Kepler’s K2 “Bumblebee” is the one that’s built for industrial grunt work. Unveiled at ICRA 2025, the fifth-gen K2 is already being tested at SAIC-GM’s Shanghai plant, where it performs quality checks, handles large parts, and loads stamped components independently. Its flexible fingertip sensors boost dexterity for mechanical tasks.
The K2 features 48 degrees of freedom and advanced visual servoing, allowing it to complete repetitive tasks with high precision and low error rates. It can walk stably across slippery factory floors, detect obstacles in real-time, and manipulate objects of varying sizes and shapes. Its frame, powered by high-efficiency actuators, thrives in harsh conditions where reliability is key.
Founded in Shanghai, Kepler Robotics builds humanoids for fast, cost-effective deployment in manufacturing and logistics, focusing on deep industrial integration rather than viral stunts or entertainment.
The Future Is Humanoid
China is fusing state-level ambition with grassroots innovation to turn humanoid robots from futuristic prototypes into practical, scalable solutions. It’s not just a tech trend but a national transformation that will spill over to the rest of the world in the next decade or two.
As robots become more intelligent, mobile, and autonomous, they will redefine the way we work, live and play. It’s not a question of if but when.
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