A two-year-old start-up founded by a former Huawei Technologies’ recruit said it has started mass production of its humanoid robots, raising the bar in a fierce competition among Chinese firms to produce artificial intelligence (AI)-powered machines.
Shanghai-based Agibot has started producing its general-purpose robot for commercial use, and has manufactured 962 units as of December 15, the company said in a recent video.
Agibot has crossed a major start-up hurdle after spending two years bringing an idea into mass production, founder Peng Zhihui wrote in a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Monday.
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Peng, 31-years-old, was recruited by Huawei in 2020 under its “Genius Youth” young talent programme to work on AI projects at the company’s computing division. Peng’s posts on his inventions, including an Iron Man-inspired robotic arm, became viral sensations on Chinese social media.
The reputed AI wunderkind left Huawei in December 2022 and started Agibot in February 2023. The company, having introduced several models of humanoid robots designed for both household tasks and industrial operations, is backed by major investors including HongShan, formerly Sequoia China, Hillhouse Investment and electric vehicle giant BYD.
An artist’s impression of Agibot in action. Photo: Handout alt=An artist’s impression of Agibot in action. Photo: Handout>
Agibot’s move towards mass producing its humanoid robots will further increase the stiff competition in China’s robotics industry, which has seen local government bodies racing to provide policy support for the sector.
The Chongqing municipal government earlier this month pledged up to 10 million yuan (US$1.37 million) in subsidies for robotics firms. The eastern city of Hangzhou also recently released a five-year development plan that would run until 2029 to promote the industry’s development.
At industry expos in Beijing and Shanghai earlier this year, mainland Chinese tech firms showcased nearly two dozen humanoid robots in attempts to outshine Tesla’s Optimus. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in July on X, formerly Twitter, that the company will have “genuinely useful” humanoid robots in low production for Tesla’s internal use next year, and achieve high production for other companies in 2026.
The field is getting increasingly crowded with more entrants. An ex-OpenAI engineer recently started a new robotics venture with offices reportedly in China and Singapore, also aiming to build general purpose robots.
China’s industry regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in November last year that the country should achieve the mass production of humanoid robots by 2025, and have them “become an important new engine of economic growth” by 2027.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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