Unitree Robotics, celebrated as the "first humanoid robot stock" on A-shares, successfully debuted yesterday, reflecting strong market confidence in the humanoid robot sector. This moment presents a critical opportunity for Zhejiang's humanoid robot industry to accelerate its progress along this promising track within a market projected to be worth trillions. Our latest China Blue Observation takes a closer look.
At the 2026 World Robot Conference currently taking place in Beijing, the Unitree Robotics booth has drawn considerable attention. Beyond showcasing their latest robots, attendees are especially eager to learn about Unitree's future strategies. Attendee Zeng Guangwei noted that Unitree seems to carry the expectations of many, operating within a booming industry, and he hopes that current technological developments will ultimately serve the people. Xia Geng, a marketing manager at Unitree Robotics, stated that their focus is on how robots can better assist people with hazardous tasks, aiming for broader application across industrial and production scenarios.
Industry analysts suggest that Unitree's status as the "first humanoid robot stock" is both a recognition of its past achievements and a reflection of the market's high expectations for embodied intelligence; however, the real challenges still lie ahead. This is a challenge not only for Unitree to address, but for the entire industry to collaboratively tackle. Zhang Yu, an analyst at the Provincial Institute of Industrial and Information Technology's Industrial Policy Research Office, emphasized that Unitree's listing marks not just capital market endorsement, but also greater scrutiny. A key factor will be how quickly the company can transition into productive and everyday applications. He added that collaboration is essential, noting that a single entity cannot succeed alone, and that forming regional competitive advantages through industrial chain cooperation is the desired outcome.
It is understood that the funds raised from Unitree's listing are earmarked for innovative R&D in intelligent robot models and core components. This leading effect is quickly rippling through the province's embodied intelligence industry chain. Westlake Robotics, also exhibiting at the World Robot Conference, recently completed a 500 million yuan Series A funding round, also dedicated to breakthroughs in embodied intelligence large models. Zhao Wei, an assistant researcher at Westlake University's Machine Intelligence Lab, explained that for a task like grasping a cup, the "brain" first identifies the target, then plans the motion trajectory, and communicates this to the "cerebellum," which coordinates the motors in the arms, torso, and entire body to execute the action.
Transitioning from "understanding tasks" to "executing actions" relies heavily on powerful model support, which is a recognized weakness in the domestic industry. To overcome this bottleneck, Westlake Robotics has deployed its proprietary "Westlake o1" model directly into demanding real-world environments, such as emergency rescue, power inspection, and home services. The data gathered from these authentic scenarios is used to iteratively improve the large model. Zhuang Zifeng, head of the General Brain division at Westlake Robotics, stated that the real differentiator lies in the embodied brain, as it determines whether humanoid robots can perform real and effective work. This is the direction they are committed to.
Alongside a capable brain, there is also a need for dexterous hands. In Shangyu, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Hiller has just launched its first automated production line with an annual capacity of 20,000 dexterous hands. This line will equip tens of thousands of humanoid robots in the Yangtze River Delta with standardized, high-precision hands. Wang Wanli, workshop director at Zhejiang Hiller Robotics, noted that this kind of line is rare nationwide, as it integrates industrial automation equipment manufacturing into the dexterous hand production process, adding significant value for customers.
At the provincial level, a development plan for humanoid robots has already been introduced, encouraging companies to develop general-purpose multimodal large models suited for humanoid robots. Simultaneously, local governments are strategically building collaborative networks for robot assembly and component industries based on regional conditions. The target is for Zhejiang to produce 20,000 complete humanoid robots annually by 2027, driving the related industrial ecosystem to reach a value of 50 billion yuan.