2 weeks Ago
Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics has opened a new factory in Hangzhou as it races to meet soaring demand amid China’s craze for the human-shaped machines. The factory, launched earlier this year, spans over 10,000 square metres, and it is expected to support the company’s expansion over the next three to five years, according to the company. “We won’t expand production blindly,” Unitree’s marketing director Huang Jiawei told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview.
“Instead, we’ll enhance capacity by increasing working hours and efficiency.” The move was supported by the municipal government, which helped the company locate a plant just a 15-minute drive from Unitree’s headquarters in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. As one of China’s most successful robotics start-ups, Unitree’s supply chain management and production capacity are seen as key advantages that set it apart in an industry where many peers struggle to commercialise their products, even as competition heats up in the domestic market.
The company’s Go2 robotic dog starts at US$1,600 (RM7,004), while its G1 humanoid starts at US$16,000 (RM70,048). The company develops core components such as motors in-house, works closely with various suppliers and handles final assembly itself. Earlier this year, Unitree’s rising popularity spurred excitement in China’s stock market, boosting shares of suppliers associated with the company, dubbed “Unitree-concept stocks”.
Founded in 2016 by robotics enthusiast Wang Xingxing, the company first became known for its quadruped robots before moving into humanoids ahead of an ongoing industry boom aided by the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Unitree is continuously investing in AI as the industry looks to give robots a “brain”, Huang said. He added that among the company’s growing workforce of around 500 people, more than half are in research and development.
Unitree became a household name almost overnight in February after its humanoid robots performed a dance at China’s Spring Festival Gala. The company’s profile further surged that month when 35-year-old Wang was among an elite group of tech executives – including Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei, Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma Huateng – at a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Its profile has also risen alongside a handful of other start-ups based in Hangzhou, home to tech giants Alibaba and NetEase.
The so-called six little dragons, which includes AI phenom DeepSeek, have helped shine a spotlight on the city as a centre of innovation amid the escalating US-China tech war. Alibaba owns the Post. Unitree’s headquarters has become much busier following its rise to fame.
During a recent midweek visit by the Post, staff said that the building had seen hundreds of visitors daily in recent months, including distributors, journalists, government officers and business partners. Last Wednesday, several groups of guests with badges could be seen in the company’s modest display room on the second floor. A sign on the first floor warned, “Unitree does not provide paid tours.
Please beware of scams!” The company remains highly protective of its employees. Research staff rarely give public interviews, and office space is strictly off-limits to visitors. Another bold warning greets visitors at the entrance of the office area: “Severe Warning! Unauthorised persons are strictly forbidden.
Violators will be prosecuted for theft of trade secrets!” “All this attention adds more pressure, pushing our team to uphold even higher standards for products,” said Huang, the marketing director. He warned that consumers could face disappointment from the current state of the technology. “Public expectations can become unrealistic,” he said.
“Robots are not intelligent enough.” Unlike some of its rivals, Unitree has not promoted its robots as options for handling household chores such as cleaning or providing home care. “We’re not at that stage yet,” Huang said.
“It will take at least another five to 10 years before robots enter household scenarios.” On Saturday, Beijing hosted a humanoid robot half-marathon, where Tien Kung Ultra, a robot developed by Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre and backed by robot maker UBTech Robotics, won with a finish time of 2 hours, 40 minutes, and 42 seconds – roughly two-and-a-half times longer than the top human male runner. During the live-streamed race, a Unitree robot fell shortly after the start.
In response, Unitree clarified it did not officially participate in the marathon. “Several independent teams used Unitree robots with their own algorithms. Performance varied significantly depending on different operators and developers,” the company said in a statement.
Before the marathon, Unitree staff told the Post that while the company lacks the bandwidth to join every event, it views such competitions positively as drivers of industry growth. – South China Morning Post.
