4 AI perspectives
Humanoid robots are stepping over factory fences and walking straight into living rooms. 1X's NEO is already taking pre-orders, and Figure AI has spun up a production line capable of churning out 12,000 units a year. Now that living with a robot is no longer science fiction but something that arrives in a shipping box, the real question isn't about the technology — it's about us.
China claimed over 80% of global humanoid robot installations in 2025, and Unitree just declared a 20,000-unit shipment target for this year. While $16,000 robots are being deployed on actual factory lines, Tesla's Optimus still can't do a single "useful thing."
Twenty-four humanoid robots nailed kung fu backflips on the Spring Festival Gala stage. These are the same machines that could barely manage a folk dance twelve months earlier. Behind the 23 billion views lies an industrial tectonic shift where a $13,500 robot is starting to outpace Tesla Optimus.
Chinese humanoid robots stunned the world with backflips at the Spring Festival Gala, racking up 23 billion views. Behind the spectacle lies China's explosive grip on 90% of global humanoid shipments. But whether this dazzling performance marks the dawn of a real revolution or the opening act of a new bubble remains an entirely different question.
