A new market study from research firm Omdia shows that Chinese robot maker Zhiyuan Robotics has become the world leader in humanoid robots. In 2025 the company shipped more than 5,100 units, capturing roughly 39 % of the global market and beating every competitor in both volume and market share. The report says the worldwide humanoid‑robot market is booming, with total shipments expected to hit 13,000 units this year and surge to 2.6 million by 2035 as AI and robotics merge. Zhiyuan’s success comes from a diverse product line that includes full‑size bipedal robots, half‑size models and wheeled versions. These machines are already working in real‑world settings such as entertainment shows, retail guidance, smart factories, research labs and data‑collection tasks. The company earned an “Advanced Capability” rating in six of eight technical categories, the most of any maker evaluated. At a launch event in December, CEO Deng Taihua announced that Zhiyuan expects to generate over 1 billion yuan (about $140 million) in revenue for 2025, a dramatic jump from the tens of millions earned the year before. He also hinted that shipments and sales could multiply again in 2026. The rapid growth of Zhiyuan, alongside peers like Unitree and CloudWalk, signals a new era for China’s embodied‑intelligence industry.
Read moreThe annual CES trade show is the tech world’s crystal ball, and this year China’s smart‑manufacturing firms stole the spotlight. Rather than scattered booth‑hoppers, Chinese companies arrived as a coordinated force, showcasing humanoid robots, AI‑driven solutions and hybrid intelligence platforms that signal a shift from merely copying global trends to setting them. The headline act was the Qiyuan Q1 robot, a compact, human‑like machine that moves out of the lab and into everyday spaces such as homes, classrooms and research labs. Its secret isn’t raw computing power but clever miniaturisation that turns a once‑exclusive piece of equipment into a consumer‑friendly gadget. What makes this moment important isn’t just the flashier hardware; it’s the underlying philosophy that technology should serve people, not the other way around. Chinese innovators are moving from chasing technical specs to delivering real‑world value, turning cutting‑edge inventions into practical tools anyone can use. International media have praised the approach as a new benchmark for the personal‑robot market, highlighting how democratising advanced tech can become a competitive edge. In short, CES 2026 showed that China’s smart‑manufacturing is no longer a follower—it’s becoming a leader, reshaping how we think about the future of factories and everyday life.
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