Wang Xingxing, the robotics aficionado who founded China’s industry-leading Unitree Robotics, made headlines when the 35-year-old was seated in the front row at President Xi Jinping’s high-profile business symposium earlier this week.
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Born in 1990, Wang was the youngest among an elite group of executives that included Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei, Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma Huateng, who all attended the Monday meeting. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Wang’s appearance landed him in the spotlight once again after Unitree’s humanoid robots stole the show with a folk dance performance during the Spring Festival gala aired last month by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
“Artificial-intelligence-driven robots are evolving at an incredibly fast pace, surpassing my expectations. Every day brings new surprises,” Wang, who is also the company CEO, told CCTV after the Xi symposium. “I believe that by the end of the year, humanoid robots will reach a whole new level.”
With Unitree remaining privately owned, investors have been chasing its suppliers instead. Zhejiang Changsheng Sliding Bearings’ stock price in Shenzhen jumped 62 per cent in the past five trading days and over 600 per cent in the past 12 months. Ningbo Shuanglin Auto Parts surged 575 per cent from a year ago.
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