When the stage lights dimmed on the 2026 Lunar Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala, the event, dubbed the "most hardcore gala ever" by netizens, concluded with a futuristic footnote marked by the collective appearance of four domestic robotics companies: Magic Atom, Galaxy Universal, Yushu Technology, and Songyan Dynamics.
That night, Yushu Technology's G1 and H2 humanoid robots wielded long staffs in the martial arts performance "Wu BOT," competing alongside young students from the Tagou Martial Arts School. Their Drunken Fist and nunchaku routines were fluid, and their sword dance in red robes exuded a chivalrous spirit. Songyan Dynamics' bionic robot portrayed a "robot grandson" in the skit "Grandma's Favorite," snuggling with Cai Ming, acting cute, and showcasing skills like neck extension, money tricks, and somersaults. Magic Atom's MagicBot series moved through the main venue's "Intelligent Manufacturing Future" segment, performing alongside artists like Jordan Chan, Jerry Yan, Luo Jiahao, and Jackson Yee. Its robotic dog and humanoid robots also appeared at the Yibin branch venue in "Standing Upstream," interacting with pandas and adding a touch of technological fun. Galaxy Universal, designated as this year's gala's embodied AI robot, impressed audiences with a rapid-fire monologue performance by its Galbot G1 in the New Year microfilm "My Most Memorable Tonight."
From Yushu Technology single-handedly "breaking through" in 2025 with "Yang BOT" to four manufacturers showcasing their strengths across different programs in 2026, this "all-star positioning battle" witnessed by hundreds of millions is a microcosm of the Chinese humanoid robotics industry's sprint over the past year.
As robots moved from laboratory demonstration tables to the national stage of the Spring Festival Gala, this high-stakes gamble in the tech world reached a critical juncture, transitioning from technological narrative to commercial reality.
In this feast termed the "Billion-Yuan Club," every participating company attempted to anchor its position before an audience of hundreds of millions, converting national-level visibility into commercial success. However, behind the bright spotlight, a微妙而危险的反差 (subtle and dangerous contrast) is forming between the high cost of the gala "ticket" and the yet-to-explode volume of actual deliveries.
This round of "sprinting" in humanoid robotics is not just a showcase of technical prowess but a strategic shift from the laboratory to the "budget spreadsheet." The industry's real battle is no longer about whose joints are more flexible or who can perform more difficult flips, but about which company can secure a place on major clients' annual capital expenditure lists.
As Zhu Xiaohu, Managing Partner of GSR Ventures, previously pointedly questioned: "Who would spend over a hundred thousand yuan to buy a robot to do these jobs?"
In the early spring of 2026, this question is becoming a mandatory test for the entire industry.
**1. The Choice of Exposure**
The past year saw the humanoid robot industry accelerate from lab demonstrations to real-world applications and batch deliveries. For the Spring Festival Gala, each company's industry position and developmental focus dictated their varying expectations.
The official statements released by the four participating companies after the gala precisely aligned with their respective strategic focuses.
Yushu Technology, a three-time veteran of the gala, stated in a late-night post on February 16th that its G1 and H2 humanoid robots presented the world's first fully autonomous cluster martial arts performance by humanoid robots. They showcased "cyber real kung fu," pushing the limits of athletic performance and achieving several global firsts, including continuous parkour over tables, projectile flips exceeding 3 meters in height, consecutive one-footed flips followed by a two-step wall-run backflip, an Airflare spin of seven and a half rotations, and cluster fast positioning at speeds up to 4m/s. The robots also featured newly self-developed dexterous hands for rapid weapon changes and stable grasping.
The company revealed that the performance utilized a high-concurrency cluster control system and proprietary AI fusion positioning algorithms combined with 3D LiDAR for precise positioning, overcoming cumulative motion errors. Yushu also clearly stated that its 2025 humanoid robot shipments exceeded 5,500 units, a figure higher than previous market research predictions.
Galaxy Universal and Yushu Technology, as first-tier companies with valuations exceeding 10 billion yuan, focused more on enhancing their capital market influence and building momentum for the impending wave of IPOs.
Galaxy Universal stated on February 17th that its robot "Xiao Gai's" rapid-fire monologue performance demonstrated the interactive capabilities of embodied large models. According to its official interpretation, the robot also possesses technical capabilities for delicate operations like manipulating walnuts, picking up glass fragments, folding clothes, and skewering sausages, all achieved through end-to-end autonomous perception, decision-making, and execution, distinguishing it from traditional pre-programmed robot performances. Galaxy Universal detailed the technical challenges of handling walnuts—their irregular surfaces and constantly changing pressure points require the robot to practice repeatedly in a virtual world before refining its "physical feel" in reality for precise operation. A company representative previously indicated that their gala presentation emphasized the robot's practical utility, with the greater significance lying in the commercial opportunities that such utility implies.
Third-tier companies like Songyan Dynamics and Magic Atom, with valuations around 3 billion yuan, seemed more intent on using the gala to "push themselves closer to the front lines," attempting to establish their market position before an anticipated industry shakeout.
Songyan Dynamics stated in its late-night Weibo post on February 16th that its exclusively customized bionic humanoid robot perfectly coordinated with Cai Ming in the skit. To adapt to the complex stage choreography, the company completed rapid technical iterations across its entire product line within over a month, achieving near-human facial expressions and fluid movements on stage. Songyan emphasized that its bionic robots are not "lab products," noting that its bionic face products had already been deployed in commercial guide scenarios in 2025, and that it is one of the few companies capable of mass-producing bionic humanoid robots. The gala performance was described as a breakthrough attempt to promote domestic humanoid robots for home use and unleash consumer-grade demand.
Magic Atom stated in its official announcement that it was the only robotics company at this year's gala demonstrating both "showmanship" and "practical utility," achieving a high-density technical debut: eight humanoid robots assisted in the "Intelligent Manufacturing Future" performance at the main venue, while its MagicDog robotic dog and MagicBot Z1 and Gen1 humanoid robots made surprise appearances in the "Standing Upstream" segment at the Yibin branch, adding technological interest. The company said the simultaneous appearance across multiple scenarios and models constituted a concentrated test of product consistency, control architecture, and engineering reliability, representing a concrete manifestation of swarm intelligence.
The gala's stage effect provided the most direct market feedback.
According to data released by JD.com on the 17th, during the first two hours of the Lunar Year of the Horse gala (8:00 PM - 10:00 PM, February 16th), platform searches for robots increased by over 300% compared to the previous period, customer service inquiries rose by 460%, and order volume grew by 150%, with new orders covering over 100 cities nationwide. "Gala同款" (Same-as-Gala) robots listed on JD.com on New Year's Eve sold out within minutes, with products from brands like Magic Atom, Yushu Technology, and Songyan Dynamics all selling out, including two GALBOT Universal Robot G1 units valued at nearly 630,000 yuan.
While the gala demonstrated these robots' capabilities and pushed them back into the spotlight, the reality is that humanoid robot development remains in its early stages. Despite frequent appearances at major exhibitions, practical deployment scenarios in everyday life still seem limited.
For small and medium-sized startups, balancing high marketing costs with core R&D investment is a critical, survival-determining decision. In the view of many CEOs, rather than funding遥控下的舞蹈 (remote-controlled dances) on television, it's better to allocate funds to R&D staff to achieve tangible progress within the factory.
An insider from a Shenzhen robotics company revealed to Wall Street News that during the gala's preparation phase, representatives approached the company, but they declined due to the high cost. "The price for the gala is constantly changing. At the time, they discussed with four or five Shenzhen robotics companies the idea of forming a team for one performance, sharing a total cost of 100 million yuan, averaging over 20 million per company." In this person's view, besides the expensive promotion, replicating the impact Yushu achieved the previous year would be difficult in 2026, as public awareness of humanoid robots has already been established. Unless a company can showcase exceptionally impressive skills to wow the audience, participating might hold little significance.
Zhiyuan Robotics, which attracted significant attention last year, also withdrew from the gala competition just before the Spring Festival. A Zhiyuan representative told Wall Street News that the core reason for abandoning the gala was that the company's budget would prioritize R&D in embodied AI technology and product iteration, temporarily excluding large-scale stage exposure investments.
Another source close to a startup robotics company stated: "At this stage, what humanoid robot companies value most in publicity is visibility among investors and the potential to secure direct large client orders. The benefits of mass publicity have significantly diminished after the past year."
**2. Orders and Financing**
In 2025, humanoid robots rapidly刷新大众认知 (refreshed public perception) through novel events like marathon running, boxing, and soccer. Simultaneously, their commercialization accelerated.
Last July, Zhiyuan Robotics and Yushu Technology won the humanoid bipedal robot OEM service procurement project from China Mobile (Hangzhou) Information Technology Co., Ltd. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Mobile), with a total budget exceeding 120 million yuan.
Guotai Haitong pointed out that this procurement tender marked an important milestone in the commercialization process of China's humanoid robot industry, currently in the critical "from 0 to 1" phase.
Other landmark orders also emerged.
Ubtech, called the "first stock of humanoid robots," secured a 250 million yuan order in September 2025,刷新全球人形机器人最大金额订单 (setting a new record for the global humanoid robot industry's largest single order). In October, it won the "Guangxi Embodied Intelligent Data Collection and Testing Center Equipment Procurement and Installation" project, with an order value of 126 million yuan.
The industry's fervor is evident not only on stage and in large orders but also in financing and IPO activities.
According to IT桔子 data, as of December 21, 2025, over 600 investors had injected capital into embodied intelligence, with more than 304 financing events全年 (throughout the year) totaling 37.9 billion yuan. These figures are 2.95 times and 4.05 times those of 2024, and 7.24 times and 4.37 times those of 2023.
Concurrently, humanoid robot companies experienced an IPO热潮 (wave). Yushu Technology completed its IPO辅导 (guidance) in November 2025 and is冲刺A股“人形机器人第一股” (racing to become the A-share 'first stock of humanoid robots'). Zhiyuan Robotics obtained a listing platform by acquiring Shangwei New Materials and completed management changes. Leading players like Leju Robotics and Yun Shen Chu are also accelerating their listing processes.
**3. The Difficulty of Mass Production**
Humanoid robots have long been seen as the ultimate physical载体 (carrier) for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), but high R&D costs and模糊的商业边界 (blurry commercial boundaries) have been persistent challenges. This situation fundamentally reversed over the past year.
A surge of capital and密集出台的产业政策 (densely introduced industrial policies) pushed this once-niche industry into the spotlight. However, judging by 2025's actual production capacity, while mass production of humanoid robots明显起量 (increased noticeably), it remains in its infancy.
Omdia's full-year 2025 data showed global humanoid robot shipments reached approximately 13,000 units, more than five times the 2024 figure.
But looking at individual company shipments, only three companies exceeded 1,000 units, all from China: Zhiyuan Robotics (5,168 units), Yushu Technology (4,200 units), and Ubtech (1,000 units).
At this stage, shipment volume is a key metric for every company, with the market leader position being particularly important. Consequently, Yushu Technology, a focal point of attention, questioned this ranking where it did not claim the top spot.
On January 22nd, Yushu clarified that its actual humanoid robot shipments for 2025 exceeded 5,500 units, with over 6,500 units produced. The company特别强调 (specially emphasized) that these figures represent pure humanoid robots, excluding other products like dual-arm wheeled robots. In its post-gala statement, Yushu reiterated this data, which surpassed earlier market predictions.
This active "setting the record straight" reflects the more stringent tests facing humanoid robot companies in 2026.
A robotics industry investor told Wall Street News: "Last year the robotics industry was lively, but it was more about普及大众认知 (popularizing public awareness). There were many unrealistic expectations from outside the industry. This year the market has turned objective and冷静 (calm), putting more emphasis on companies' delivery capabilities and the ability to deploy products stably."
This view reflects a degree of introspection beneath the hype: without genuine market orders to support them, even the most spectacular gala performances are merely expensive "fireworks."
TrendForce notes that as manufacturers move towards mass production布局 (layouts), finding the application value of humanoid robots has become the current focus. Manufacturers' development priorities have shifted from单纯的软硬件研发 (pure software and hardware R&D) to the落地 (landing) of practical application scenarios.
**4. Potential for Diverse Paths**
For humanoid robots to truly move from the lab to large-scale commercial deployment in society, the question of "who will pay" must be answered first.
Based on scenario maturity and customer budget logic, current commercialization paths for humanoid robot companies can be roughly divided into four categories. The technical displays and official statements of the four gala companies outline the industry's exploration of diversified commercialization.
First is the "entering the factory" logic within manufacturing, currently the path with the highest certainty and fastest implementation.
In highly controlled environments like automotive manufacturing, 3C electronics, and warehouse logistics, humanoid robots are gradually transitioning from "showcase projects" to "production labor." The core logic addresses labor shortages in high-value workstations, encompassing tasks like精密零部件装配 (precise component assembly), material handling, and stringent quality inspection.
Companies like Ubtech, Yushu Technology, Zhiyuan Robotics, Zhipingfang, and overseas players like Figure AI and Tesla, focus on industrial scenarios as key to commercialization. Yushu's gala demonstration of high athletic performance, cluster coordination, and dexterous hand technology directly supports core needs for industrial application.
An investor related to humanoid robots told Wall Street News that this path's commercial viability rests entirely on strict ROI (Return on Investment) calculations. Factory CFOs won't pay for a "high-tech feel"; they only care if the comprehensive hourly operating cost is lower than human labor. Therefore, the mainstream procurement model remains "trial + small-batch verification," far from大规模采购阶段 (the stage of large-scale procurement).
The second path involves entering public spaces within the service sector, such as government and business services, retail, guided tours, hospitality, tourism, and education. Given the current capabilities of humanoid robots, this path is often more feasible than factory entry at present.
This path offers more technological溢价 (premium) and marketing value, using the "tech feel" to attract attention and complete simple business loops. Some companies have launched targeted solutions for stable operation and intelligent interaction in complex, high-traffic environments. Songyan Dynamics' deployment of bionic humanoid robots for commercial guiding and Galaxy Universal's demonstrations of life-like service operations are core explorations along this path.
However, since整机单价依然高企 (the unit price of complete humanoid robots remains high), to promote large-scale use in public spaces, some companies are exploring flexible business models beyond direct sales, including project-based deals, leasing, RaaS (Robot-as-a-Service) subscriptions, and IP collaborations.
A typical example is Zhiyuan Robotics' "Qingtianzu" platform, which adopts an RaaS model. It leverages multiple robot brands on the platform and Zhiyuan's capabilities in human-like interaction, multi-task execution, and stable operation. Such solutions easily adapt to various high-frequency, short-duration commercial and public scenarios like corporate events, promotions, exhibitions, and cultural tourism activities. Qingtianzu platform data showed that within three weeks of launch, registered users exceeded 200,000, with daily rental orders stabilizing above 200.
Clearly modularizing the service scenarios applicable to humanoid robots is another significant commercialization attempt. General robot company Zhipingfang launched the embodied intelligent service space "Zhi Mo Fang" late last year, currently comprising four independent functional modules: coffee, ice cream, entertainment, and retail. It has already been deployed in places like Beijing and Shenzhen. Zhipingfang plans to deploy 1,000 Zhi Mo Fang units nationwide within three years, covering typical cultural, commercial, and tourism scenes like scenic spots, commercial streets, parks, and museums. An insider from Zhipingfang told Wall Street News: "The launch effect of Zhi Mo Fang has been very good, even exceeding our expectations. This kind of modular embodied intelligent service was unprecedented; it became very popular upon release, and各地很买单 (various locations are accepting it well). We've recently received dozens more orders for Zhi Mo Fang."
The third current commercialization path involves research用途 (applications), primarily targeting universities and research institutes. Companies like Yushu Technology, Zhiyuan Robotics, and Xingdong纪元 prioritize this as a strategic focus or early core customer base. Yushu's high-performance robots serve as important experimental platforms in research.
The fourth commercialization path for humanoid robots targets end consumers (C-end), with the ultimate vision of placing robots in every household. Although this faces the most complex physical environments and stringent cost challenges, initial破冰行动 (ice-breaking actions) have begun.
Currently, attempts on this path focus on cultivating the "geek, education, and entertainment" market. While humanoid robots in this market currently struggle with heavy housework, they have demonstrated significant revenue potential. Yushu Technology and Songyan Dynamics are key players here.
Jiang Zheyuan, Founder and Chairman of Songyan Dynamics, told Wall Street News that humanoid robots haven't entered the consumer grade because technology and model generalization are insufficient for tasks like elderly care or housekeeping. The bionic humanoid robot showcased at the gala represents Songyan's important布局 (layout) towards exploring C-end home scenarios. "Our idea behind releasing Xiao Bu Mi (launched last October, priced at only 9,998 yuan) is that if humanoid robots can't yet perform those tasks, they should first provide emotional value—accompanying children, teaching them programming or English. This is a direction that can quickly enter homes in the short term," Jiang said.
**5. The Breakout Point is Still Distant**
How far is the humanoid robot industry from a true爆发点 (breakout point)?
The answer likely depends not only on parameters in technical whitepapers but also on the capital expenditure line item in corporate financial statements.
The true sign of industry maturity will be its formal inclusion in corporate fixed asset ledgers, subject to depreciation scrutiny alongside traditional industrial equipment.
At last year's launch event for XPeng's IRON humanoid robot, He Xiaopeng stated that if IRON were to work on assembly lines screwing bolts, the high wear from frequent operation would require hand replacement every few months, with the cost of each replacement "enough to hire a human worker for several years." At that time, XPeng's "offer" to IRON was as a spokesperson for new cars, with plans for它进入导览、导购、导巡等应用场景 (it to enter application scenarios like guiding, shopping assistance, and patrol).
Zhang Zhengyou, Tencent's Chief Scientist and Director of the Robotics X Lab, believes the commercialization of humanoid robots is far from reaching the "brick phone era"; most are currently used for data collection, research, and guiding. He pointed out that whether in core technology breakthroughs or engineering refinement, truly meeting the high standards and strict requirements of diverse scenarios, enabling embodied intelligence to enter millions of households and frontline production/services, still requires immense effort and continuous寻求切实的突破 (seeking practical breakthroughs) on key难点 (difficult points).
Optimists believe the humanoid robot breakout could occur before 2030, while others think it will come later. Wang Feili, China Industrial Analyst at UBS Securities, mentioned a key node akin to the "electric vehicle moment"—when technological bottlenecks are overcome, leading to sales exploding from 1 million to 10 million units within five years. For humanoid robots, this moment is "unlikely to appear" within five years.
For humanoid robots to truly perform work, the industry普遍认为 (generally believes) the main hurdle is insufficient data for embodied intelligence. Jiang Zheyuan pointed out that the current data scale is inadequate. The fact that many local governments and listed companies are building embodied AI training grounds to collect data reflects a severe "data famine." This shortage showed no significant improvement in 2026.
Yao Maoqing, Partner, Senior Vice President, and President of the Embodied Business Unit at Zhiyuan Robotics, also stated that Zhiyuan's current top priority is getting robots into as many real scenarios as possible to acquire high-quality data, which is the most crucial step for their current technological path.
The stage performances of the four companies at the gala also served as an important process for accumulating data in real, complex scenarios and verifying technology.
Even if the industry's breakout point remains distant, there is a普遍认为 (general belief) that 2026 marks the starting point for substantial growth in the humanoid robot industry. Morgan Stanley doubled its forecast for 2026 Chinese humanoid robot sales to 28,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 133%. Morgan Stanley believes this growth trend will accelerate, with sales预计增至 (projected to reach) 262,000 units by 2030 and 2.6 million by 2035.
IDC predicts that by 2026, application scenarios for humanoid robots in China will increase to more than three times current levels, with the market size nearing $1.3 billion, more than doubling year-on-year.
The sprint of embodied intelligence本质上需要 (essentially requires) a transition from a technological narrative to an economic one.
The 2026 Spring Festival Gala's "robot carnival," the technical breakthroughs of the four companies, and their official statements outline different paths for humanoid robot commercialization. The market heat and order growth generated by the gala also allow the industry to see the real possibility of technology落地 (landing).
Before humanoid robots are supported by the "income statement," they resemble a high-stakes gamble on the digitization of the physical world. Only when they are written into the CFO's fixed asset ledger do they truly transition from a technological dream to a mature industrial business.
Amid the sprint, keeping feet on the ground is essential. The "dawn" of the global robotics industry's industrialization is drawing nearer. No one wants to be absent, but those who can endure until the budget spreadsheet truly takes effect will be the ultimate winners.