China’s Unitree Robotics sees embodied AI 100x funding

Chinese robotics firm Unitree Robotics believes advancements in embodied AI could trigger significant global investment, according to its CEO Wang Xingxing.

Wang said that the sector remains in an early growth phase and that breakthroughs in large-scale AI models for robotics could lead to a major reallocation of capital, potentially surpassing the impact of the mobile internet era.

Wang suggested that scalable applications of embodied AI in the coming years could increase interest and investment by 100x to 1,000x.

This outlook aligns with China’s focus on robotics and embodied intelligence as key growth drivers under its 15th five-year plan and the national “AI Plus” strategy.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Unitree’s current business is more quadruped than humanoid

Unitree is getting ready for an initial public offering that could value the firm at up to $7 billion, up from about $1.7 billion in June 2025 1.
Four-legged quadruped robots brought in 65% of 2024 sales, while humanoid models accounted for 30% 1.
Unitree said its humanoid robots were used only in research, education, and consumer settings, not in industrial work like factories 1.
The company has reportedly been profitable since 2020 and released its entry-level R1 humanoid robot earlier in 2025 with a starting price equivalent to $5,900 1.

Beijing is engineering a domestic market for its robotics champions

The CEO tied that outlook to China’s national “AI Plus” strategy, which aims to speed up AI adoption across industries 2.
Under the plan, centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs), companies owned and overseen by China’s central government, are expected to build AI-enabled use cases including embodied intelligence like humanoid and industrial robots 3.
That approach sets up a government-built market since central SOEs hold more than 95 trillion yuan in total assets, about $13.68 trillion, and can drive AI-enabled deployment at scale 3.
China also formed a humanoid robotics and embodied intelligence standardization technical committee under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, one of China’s central government agencies overseeing industrial policy, and it held its first meeting in Beijing in late 2025 4.
The work fits the 15th Five-Year Plan period focus on technological self-sufficiency and using domestic demand, including through “AI Plus” programs 5.