China

Shenzhen-based Kinetix AI has debuted KAI, a full-sized humanoid robot featuring a record-breaking 115 degrees of freedom and a proprietary world model designed for domestic and office environments.

During a technical workshop in Beijing, XPENG's Mi Liangchuan revealed that while robotic AI is scaling rapidly, hardware reliability and a lack of clear data strategies remain significant hurdles for the 'Iron' humanoid.

The second annual Beijing Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon saw a historic leap in performance, with Honor’s "Lightning" model surpassing the human world record. While 300 robots competed in China, a sharp contrast emerged as Tesla opted to showcase Optimus on the sidelines of the Boston Marathon.

At the 2026 AGIBOT Partner Conference, the Shanghai-based robotics leader announced five new robotic platforms and eight foundational AI models, declaring a shift from technical demos to scalable industrial productivity.

German retail giant Rossmann has launched a year-long pilot program using the UBTECH Walker S2 humanoid robot to automate repetitive warehouse tasks, marking a significant expansion of UBTECH's industrial footprint into Europe.