Beijing has flagged risks of excessive duplication in China’s rapidly growing humanoid robot sector, vowing to strengthen guidance for an industry that officials have identified as an important engine of future growth.
Driven by an influx of new capital, the number of humanoid robot companies in China has climbed to over 150 and is continuing to grow, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spokeswoman Li Chao told a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.
“More than half of them are start-ups or cross-industry entrants, which is a good thing for encouraging innovation,” Li said, while also emphasising the need to avoid having too many similar products flood the market and compress the space for research and development.
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“Speed and bubbles have always been issues that need to be grasped and balanced in the development of cutting-edge industries,” she said.
The Chinese government highlighted “embodied intelligence” – referring to artificial intelligence integrated into machinery such as robots – as a key future industry for the first time in the government work report delivered to the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in March.
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Chinese humanoid robot companies have released a slew of new products in the past few months, including Beijing-based Noetix Robotics’ child-sized humanoid Bumi, which launched for presale last month at 9,998 yuan (US$1,412).
With many models hitting the market at eye-catchingly low prices, critics have raised concerns about a potential investment bubble spurred by marketing gimmicks designed to generate the hype needed to secure fresh capital.