- Unitree founder Wang Xingxing forecasts global humanoid robot shipments will reach tens of thousands in 2026, with Unitree targeting 10,000 to 20,000 units.
- Constrained by technical bottlenecks such as embodied intelligence, humanoid robots remain in the early stages of application.
Wang Xingxing, founder of Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer Unitree, projects global shipments of humanoid robots will reach tens of thousands in 2026, with Unitree targeting 10,000 to 20,000 units.
Wang disclosed this target during an interview with local media outlet Cailian, representing significant growth from the company's 5,500 units shipped in 2025.
Wang acknowledged that humanoid robots remain in an early application phase due to technical bottlenecks like embodied intelligence.
Unitree's humanoid robots and those from several domestic peers became a hot topic after their appearance on this year's Spring Festival Gala stage. During one performance, a robot "fell" while demonstrating Drunken Fist, sparking debate over whether it was intentional or accidental.
Wang responded that it was scripted. According to a Xinhua report, the Drunken Fist requires a state of precarious balance. If the robot falls and then stands back up on its own, it looks incredibly cool and captures the essence of Drunken Fist.
The Spring Festival Gala appearance showcased multiple breakthroughs in Unitree's humanoid robot technology, including achieving a maximum backflip height exceeding 3 meters for the first time, performing consecutive backflips on one leg, and the world's first rapid cluster positioning, reaching speeds of up to 4 meters per second.
Unitree achieved real-time coordinated movements among dozens of robots, using AI algorithms combined with 3D LiDAR to ensure precise positioning even after intense motion. This also marks the world's first fully autonomous humanoid robot cluster martial arts performance.
Unitree's durability was recently validated. In early February, its G1 robot traversed over 130,000 steps across Xinjiang's Altay snowfields at -47.4°C (-117.8°F), using BeiDou satellite navigation to map an 186-meter-long Winter Olympics emblem — becoming the first humanoid robot to autonomously navigate such extreme cold.
Launched in May 2024, the G1 robot retails for RMB 99,000, weighs about 35 kilograms, and is equipped with the company's in-house developed UnifoLM unified large model, offering about 2 hours of continuous operation.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Unitree specializes in consumer and industrial robotics R&D.
