By Reuters
Publication Date: 2026-08-19 16:38:00
Chinese robot makers showed off humanoids sorting parcels, packing mobile phones and helping with household chores at a Beijing conference on Wednesday, seeking to demonstrate a shift from crowd-pleasing displays to broader commercial use.
More than 300 mostly domestic companies are attending the World Robot Conference, which runs through Sunday, displaying over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than 150 products, according to organizers.
The event comes amid a surge of investor interest in humanoids, a potential new source of industrial growth for China and an arena of technological competition with the United States.
Shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, soared nearly sixfold in their Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, after Unitree’s initial public offering was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors.
Following Unitree’s IPO, startup Lumos Robotics and the robotics division of China’s largest auto exporter Chery Automobile told Reuters they were also considering stock market listings.
Nvidia executive visits
Madison Huang, a senior Nvidia executive and daughter of the US chipmaker’s CEO Jensen Huang, made an unannounced visit to the event, watching robots perform flying kicks and dance routines before stopping at a…