Chinese companies focused on humanoid robot manufacturing are now investing heavily in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which serves as the "brain" of these robots.
On November 2, Reuters reported that Chinese robotics firms are moving beyond hardware competition, which includes executing movements like running and dancing, to engage in a race to develop physical AI that enables robots to perceive the real world and act accordingly.
The surge in investment in physical AI by Chinese companies is reflected in actual investment statistics. According to IT Juzi, a Chinese market research firm, there were 322 investment deals in the physical AI sector in the first half of this year, amounting to 93.5 billion yuan (approximately $19 billion), five times the amount from the same period last year.
Reuters noted that investment is rapidly flowing not only to established robotics manufacturers but also to companies specializing in developing physical AI systems. As the importance of AI technology that allows robots to recognize their surroundings and perform new tasks grows, investor interest is shifting toward the development of the robots' "brains."
The physical AI sector has emerged as a new front in the U.S.-China technology competition. While U.S. companies maintain an edge in advanced AI research and high-performance computing chips for some cutting-edge robotic AI systems, Chinese firms are leveraging their manufacturing base and capabilities to gather training data from real-world work environments to catch up.
Chinese companies are noted for their ability to closely collaborate with robotics manufacturers and industrial clients, allowing them to test and improve AI systems in actual work settings.
For instance, the Chinese physical AI firm Qianxun Zhinen has hired around 1,000 employees to record activities in daily life and industrial settings. Lobbyant, the robotics division of China's Ant Group, has trained its AI models using a total of 160,000 hours of data, including 50,000 hours of robot movements manually operated by humans.
This technology is already being deployed in various industrial settings. A robot from Qianxun Zhinen, used in a CATL battery manufacturing plant, is connecting flexible wires during the battery pack inspection process, with the company reporting a success rate exceeding 99%.
Established humanoid robot manufacturers are also accelerating their AI brain development. Ubtech, a robotics company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has publicly advertised for a chief scientist to lead AI model development, offering an annual salary of up to 12.4 million yuan.
Another Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer, Unitree, has reportedly assigned about 30 researchers to develop AI technology that predicts the movements and actions of objects. Wang Xingxing, the founder of Unitree, recently suggested that there could be a technological breakthrough in physical AI within the next one to three years, predicting that embodied AI could experience a "ChatGPT moment" as early as next year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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