Unitree CEO: End-to-End AI is the Real Bottleneck for Humanoid Robots

Shanghai forum spotlights the AI bottleneck

Unitree Robotics CEO Wang Xingxing offered insights into the burgeoning humanoid robot market at the 6th Shanghai Innovation & Entrepreneurship Youth 50 Forum, emphasizing that achieving unified, end-to-end AI systems represents the industry's most significant challenge, even as hardware costs and production scale remain critical factors.

“Hardware is not the hardest part; the real challenge is a unified, end-to-end AI system.”

— Wang Xingxing, CEO of Unitree Robotics, at the 6th Shanghai Innovation & Entrepreneurship Youth 50 Forum on 10 May 2025.

Wang stressed that such an AI “brain” must let a robot learn and perform unfamiliar tasks without hand-coding each behaviour. The firm that cracks this will become both the world’s top robotics and AI company, he predicted.

Hardware still matters for scale

While calling AI the decisive bottleneck, Wang listed two near-term engineering hurdles: lowering component cost and extending service life so that humanoids can be built "in ultra-high volumes".

Industry-wide, six of China’s eleven humanoid-robot makers—including Unitree, UBTech and Fourier (智元)—plan to build 1 000+ units each in 2025, according to a recent TrendForce report that also pegs the mainland humanoid-robot market at ¥4.5 billion next year.

Market Momentum and Unitree's Position

Wang highlighted the strong growth across the humanoid robotics sector, noting that Unitree and other companies are experiencing significant demand. "Many companies—including Unitree—are drowning in orders," he reportedly stated, adding that Unitree's focus for the year includes quality control and meeting delivery timelines.

Unitree has established itself as a major player, particularly in the quadruped market. According to the GG Robotics Industry Research Institute, the company sold nearly 24,000 robot dogs in 2024, capturing almost 70% of the global market. It also reportedly delivered 1,500 humanoid robots last year.

Why Humanoids?

Wang outlined four core reasons for Unitree's focus on the humanoid form factor:

1. Simplicity: He views humanoids as the structurally simplest general-purpose robot design.
2. Human Preference: People connect more readily with human-like machines, offering greater "emotional value."
3. Data Compatibility: AI models trained on vast amounts of human data can be more easily applied to humanoid robots.
4. Task Relevance: The ultimate aim is to develop robots capable of performing human labor, freeing people from manual tasks.

Open call for talent

Unitree’s growth plans hinge on hiring: “We’re badly short-handed in every department—administration, procurement, sales engineering, R-D, marketing—all positions are open,” Wang told the forum audience. He framed today’s AI boom as “the best opportunity” for young engineers and entrepreneurs.

Sources

1. Securities Times / Sina Finance transcription, 11 May 2025. (finance.sina.com.cn)
2. South China Morning Post, “China’s humanoid robot makers lack unified ‘end-to-end’ AI system,” 12 May 2025. (scmp.com)
3. IT Home, “Wang Xingxing: Many humanoid-robot firms are swamped with orders,” 12 May 2025. (ithome.com)
4. TrendForce via IT Home, market forecast, 21 Apr 2025. (ithome.com)
5. Business Insider, “Spring Festival celebration featured a fleet of dancing robots…,” 29 Jan 2025. (businessinsider.com)

Risk disclaimer: This article provides general information and does not constitute investment advice.