Founder of China’s Unitree sees lack of advanced AI as biggest roadblock to mass robot use

In an interview with the People’s Daily, Wang Xingxing predicts that significant progress in the sector will arrive in three to five years

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Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, speaks at the Summer Davos gathering in northern China’s Tianjin in June. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:00pm, 13 Aug 2025

The biggest obstacle to the mass deployment of robots is the lack of advanced artificial intelligence, according to Wang Xingxing, founder of China’s leading robotics company Unitree.

Robotic AI had not reached a critical threshold necessary for widespread adoption, Wang said in an interview published on Wednesday by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party. He reiterated his earlier assertion that the “ChatGPT moment” for the robotics industry had yet to arrive.

“This is a common challenge worldwide, and many people are working to overcome it,” he said. “But breakthroughs can happen at any time … issues that currently seem insurmountable could be suddenly resolved in the future.”

Wang’s remarks come as China’s robotics sector – an area also known as embodied intelligence – is gaining momentum, attracting interest from the government, various industries and the public.

Unitree garnered national attention after its humanoid robots gave a dance performance during state broadcaster China Central Television’s annual Lunar New Year’s Eve gala. Weeks later, Wang became the youngest entrepreneur to join Chinese President Xi Jinping’s high-profile business symposium in February.

Visitors watch humanoid robots fight at the Unitree booth during the World Robot Conference in Beijing. Photo: cnsphoto via Reuters

Wang, 35, said the heightened attention was beneficial for the entire industry, adding that Unitree and other robotics businesses performed well in the first half of the year.

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Founder of China’s Unitree sees lack of advanced AI as biggest roadblock to mass robot use

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In an interview with the People’s Daily, Wang Xingxing predicts that significant progress in the sector will arrive in three to five years

In an interview with the People’s Daily, Wang Xingxing predicts that significant progress in the sector will arrive in three to five years