New robots, new capabilities. Tracking what's coming for the workforce.
Robotics A Reuters investigation published August 31 puts Chinese government purchases of humanoids and related gear at $230M in the first half, against $62M a year earlier and $6M in 2024. In the training center those purchases funded, an experienced operator produces one usable movement per 50 attempts, and the robots work at roughly 20% of human speed.
Robotics Under the draft, when full autonomy is switched on, the manufacturer handles the violation. The seat stops needing someone qualified to receive it.
Robotics XPeng named a valuation for its humanoid business on August 24, alongside Q2 earnings. The number to read isn't $6.3B. It's where the money sends IRON to work: the showroom floor, not the plant floor.
Robotics A CAICT report surfaced on August 21 puts more than 70 embodied-AI training grounds in operation across China by the end of June, with 46 more under construction or planned. Industrial manufacturing appears in 86% of them.
Robotics The 2026 Humanoid Robot Industry Development Report landed on the World Robot Conference main stage on August 20 with a headline figure: more than 40,000 units shipped in China in the first half, 97% of the global total. Elsewhere that same 40,000 is called production, not shipments.
Robotics The 2026 World Robot Conference opened August 19 in Beijing's Yizhuang district. The figure disclosed alongside it: Chinese robotics firms above scale booked more than 90B yuan in revenue from January through May, up 26.9%. On the floor, one welding system is already running near-unmanned inside a Korean shipyard.
Robotics Unitree filed its listing notice on August 18 and rings the bell on August 19 at a post-offer valuation of 61B yuan. The number worth reading is not the multiple. It is the 18,000 robots already built, and where they currently go to work.
Robotics Xiaomi's Q2 results on August 18 listed three named workstations in its own EV plant and the humanoid's success rate at each. On the same call, president Lu Weibing said the robot will not be sold as a standalone product.
Robotics JD.com reported Q2 on August 13: revenue of RMB346.4B, down 2.9%, and income from operations of RMB4.5B against a RMB0.9B loss a year ago. The same release disclosed thousands of unmanned delivery vehicles in regular operation across more than 20 provinces, plus the first night-time autonomous routes in Shenzhen.
Robotics Unitree sets its STAR Market offer price today, nine days after the FCC barred new Chinese humanoids and robot dogs from the US market.
Robotics BYD confirmed its first humanoid robot debuts in August at a Zhengzhou experience centre — 1.61m, 58.5kg, 31 degrees of freedom, and a spec sheet aimed entirely at talking to customers.
Robotics Unitree filed its STAR Market prospectus on July 30, disclosing H1 revenue growth of 36-45% and an adjusted net profit that fell year-on-year.