BEIJING, Aug 10 – The “ChatGPT moment” for robots could arrive within the next two to three years, said Wang Xingxing, CEO, CTO and founder of Chinese robot startup Unitree in his speech on Saturday’s 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC).
Wang noted that in the first half of this year, China’s humanoid robot industry saw significant growth and gained worldwide attention. Including both complete machine manufacturers and component manufacturers, companies in the sector posted average growth of 50 to 100 percent. Unitree’s humanoid robot G1, priced from 99,000 yuan ($13,780.31), has become one of the most widely shipped humanoid robots worldwide, he added.
Wang compared the current stage of humanoid robot development to the period two to three years before the emergence of ChatGPT, saying the industry has already mapped out a development path, but tangible results have yet to be seen.
In the first half of 2025, China’s robotics industry posted a 27.8 percent year-on-year rise in operating revenue, while output of industrial robots and service robots rose by 35.6 percent and 25.5 percent respectively, Xin Guobin, vice minister of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, unveiled during the opening ceremony of the 2025 WRC on Friday.
Unitree began IPO counseling in July. At a press conference on Saturday, Wang said the company is also advancing “standard” listing procedures. He likened going public to taking the college entrance exam, calling it “a stage for a company to move toward more mature management and operations, as well as an account of what we have achieved over the past nine-plus years.”
Unitree’s latest humanoid robot, the R1, is priced from 39,900 yuan ($5,500). “Prices are falling rapidly, and smaller robots will be even cheaper,” Wang said. On whether robots might eventually become freely available, he added, “Once robots can actually work, the global perception of them will change significantly.”
Wang projected that shipments of humanoid robots will double annually in the coming years, and with breakthroughs, annual volumes could reach hundreds of thousands or even millions within two to three years.
