Industry
Companies, supply chains, commercialization and deployment.
Optimus Sales Expected Next Year; Li Auto Resumes Humanoid Robot R&D; Microsoft Unveils VLA+ Model
Key updates: Unitree reports 2025 shipments exceeding 5,500 units; Musk anticipates public sales of Optimus by end of next year; Li Auto restarts humanoid robot development; Microsoft unveils the Rho-alpha VLA+ model for robotics.
Unitree Reports 5,500 Humanoid Shipments as Li Auto Reboots R&D Amid Industry Scaling
Unitree Tech revealed its 2025 humanoid robot shipments exceeded 5,500 units, while Li Auto has restarted R&D for humanoid robots by urgently hiring staff. This marks the industry's transition from early-stage validation to large-scale manufacturing.
Skild AI Raises RMB 9.8 Billion in Series C; 1X Unveils World Model Progress; LimX Dynamics Releases Embodied AI Agent System
Sklid AI completes a $1.4 billion (approx. 9.8 billion RMB) Series C round led by SoftBank, raising its valuation to over $14 billion. Meanwhile, 1X introduces its generative world model 1XWM for robotic autonomy, and LimX Dynamics launches COSA, an embodied agent OS for humanoid robots.
1X Reveals World Model Advances: Can NEO Robots Enter Homes?
1X has released 1XWM, a generative world model pre-trained on internet videos, to enhance NEO's autonomous capabilities and accelerate its deployment in household environments.
Boston Dynamics Unveils Industrial Atlas; X Square Robot Raises RMB 1 Billion; Mobileye to Acquire Mentee Robotics for USD 900 Million
This week's tech roundup covers Boston Dynamics' new industrial Atlas robot, X Square Robot's 1 billion yuan funding round, AgiBot's SOP online post-training system, and Mobileye's $900 million acquisition of Mentee Robotics.
Robots Take Center Stage at CES
CES 2026 highlights the shift toward physical AI and embodied intelligence, with robots from Boston Dynamics, Unitree, Fourier, and others showcasing advanced capabilities in industrial, home, and interactive scenarios.
2025: The Year Robots Proved They Could Work
In 2025, robots transitioned from lab demos to real-world applications, proving their reliability in everything from Spring Festival Gala performances to factory lines and home services.
Robots Still Need Better Hands for Real-World Deployment
At the 10th Anniversary and Embodied AI Strategic Cooperation Summit held on December 27 in Shanghai, OYMotion signed a strategic partnership with Ledike Group. The company revealed that its dexterous hands currently serve around 200 clients across more than 10 SKUs spanning three product series. This collaboration aims to bridge the gap from basic components to final execution units, jointly tapping into the trillion-yuan embodied AI market.
Vbot Community Surpasses 300 Members as Consumer Embodied AI Accelerates
Vbot's consumer-grade embodied AI robot dog, 'Big Head BoBo', achieved over 10 million RMB in orders on its first day and rapidly built a community of over 300 users, signaling the arrival of practical consumer robotics.
TARS Unveils Embroidering Robot and Full-Stack Embodied AI System After RMB 1.7 Billion Funding
Embodied AI company TARS unveiled its first full-stack technology release, featuring the TARS AWE 2.0 model and an AI-native hardware system. The company demonstrated global capabilities by showcasing the world's first robot to complete manual embroidery.
AgiBot and Others Launch 'Qingtian Rent' Platform to Democratize Robot Access
Facing user pain points like high costs and lack of trust, Embodied AI companies including AgiBot have launched 'Qingtian Rent', offering 8 robot models across 16 scenarios from 200 to 100,000 yuan. The platform aims to cover 200 cities by the 2026 Spring Festival.
Musk Praises Unitree G1 Performance; LimX Dynamics Unveils Multi-Form Robots; Daxiao Robotics Showcases Three Breakthroughs
Unitree G1 dances at Wang Leehom's concert with Musk's praise; LimX Dynamics releases TRON 2 multi-form robot starting at 49,800 RMB; Daxiao Robotics unveils ACE paradigm and A1 brain module.