Unitree founder sees faster evolution of embodied intelligence

Embodied intelligence is advancing faster than expected, with robots' generalization abilities improving, Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing said Thursday at the World Robot Conference in Beijing.

Themed "Human-Robot Symbiosis, Production-Demand Convergence," the 2026 edition of World Robot Conference kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday.

Unitree Robotics on Wednesday became the first humanoid robot maker listed on the A-share market, marking a significant step for the country's humanoid robot industry as it moves from technology accumulation to scaled and commercialized development. At the forum, Wang showcased products such as a robot that has broken human records in short-distance running, saying efforts are being made to enable physical AI robot models to self-evolve.

"Many people are curious about when general-purpose robots will truly enter our life and families. The biggest bottleneck at present is still that the generalization ability of embodied intelligence is not yet sufficient. I believe that in the next 10 years, at this new starting point, especially during the period of the explosive growth of AI and the extremely high global attention, the evolution speed of robots has significantly increased. The future development may even be faster than I predicted. If one day in any unfamiliar environment, or in your home, a robot can complete about 80 percent of the tasks successfully, it will be a critical breakthrough point for the industry in the future," said Wang.

Industry investors are setting up new funds for physical AI, channeling capital into the fast‑growing humanoid robotics sector.

"In fact, the listing of humanoid robot enterprises that we have witnessed is at a much faster pace than the industries we have seen in the past. Generally speaking, many enterprises have achieved listing within two or three years. In addition to embodied intelligence, there are also significant investment opportunities in hard-tech directions such as physical AI, including the basic layer of AI, large model hardware, and practical applications," said Li Jiasheng, an investment director of Shoucheng Holdings.

Unitree founder sees faster evolution of embodied intelligence

Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified launching a new investment cycle in industry, agriculture, services and housing as a key priority for the national economy during a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects on Wednesday.

Putin noted that Russia's many export-oriented megaprojects in the chemical industry, metallurgy, mining and petrochemicals have already passed their peak investment phase, leading to a slowdown in capital investment growth.

"The overall economic dynamics are modest but positive. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth stands at about 1 percent. Moreover, in the first half of the year, the GDP grew by 0.6 percent, and in the second quarter, it reached 1.3 percent," he said.

While noting that Ukrainian attacks had not caused serious damage, Putin said logistics and storage infrastructure required restoration, including with the government's participation.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted despite the impact of international sanctions, Russia's real GDP has increased by more than 10 percent over the past three years.

During the period, Russia's economic growth structure has shifted. The share of net economic exports have fallen by nearly threefold, and the economy has in effect pivoted toward the domestic market. Investment accounted for 23.3 percent of the GDP in 2025, reaching its highest level in the past 15 years.

Novak told Putin at the meeting that Russia's sector-level economic structure has also undergone changes. Manufacturing has become the key growth driver, and its share climbed from 13 percent to almost 15 percent in 2025. For the first time, manufacturing output has consistently exceeded extractive-industry output by more than 1.5 times. The share of high-value-added industries grew from 15 percent to 18.4 percent.

Putin calls for new investment cycle to boost Russian economy