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Founded in 2016, Unitree has become a robotics industry leader, selling a wide range of devices from sensors and automated arms to four-legged and human-like machines.<\/p>\n
For several years, it has been a fierce rival to developers in the US as it rolled out robots with similar features but at lower prices.<\/p>\n
The company – which plays a key role in Beijing’s ambitions to be a global leader in cutting-edge technologies – is based in Hangzhou, in eastern China.<\/p>\n
The region is home to a so-called golden cluster zone of robotics firms, which have been boosted by huge government investments.<\/p>\n
That support helped drive a more than threefold increase in the number of Chinese robotics firms between 2020 and 2024, according to state-run China Daily.<\/p>\n
Robots are also seen as a potential solution to challenges posed by China’s ageing population, which is expected to lead to a shortage of workers to support the economy’s physically demanding manufacturing base, according to Fei Qin, an associate professor at the University of Bath.<\/p>\n
Beijing considers the robotics sector a “strategic priority” in its pursuit of leadership in advanced technology, she said.<\/p>\n
“Robots are where AI leaves the screen and enters the economy” in factories, hospitals and, potentially, the home, Qin added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n