August 20, 2026, (Inside AI) — The humanoid robot industry is moving toward a defining moment comparable to the launch of ChatGPT, according to Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Chinese robot maker Unitree. Speaking Thursday at the World Robot Conference in Beijing, Wang said the sector is approaching a breakthrough where robots can handle unfamiliar environments through basic voice or text commands.
"We are marching towards a 'ChatGPT moment' in embodied intelligence," Wang said. His comments came one day after Unitree's shares soared nearly sixfold in their Shanghai debut, before falling 11% on Thursday. The volatile trading reflects intense investor interest in a sector Beijing has prioritized.
The term "ChatGPT moment" refers to late 2022, when OpenAI's large language model triggered mass adoption of generative AI. No equivalent event has occurred for world models, the physical AI systems that help robots understand real-world spaces. Wang said that milestone may be close.
"We hope that in the future, we can see a robot be introduced into an unfamiliar household and it can achieve approximately 80% of tasks successfully through voice or text commands," Wang said. He called this "an important tipping point for the robot industry to usher in explosive growth."
Software Leap Still Years Away, Unitree CEO Cautions #
Wang tempered his optimism with a sober timeline. A major leap in robot software could arrive in two to three years in an optimistic scenario, or five to ten years at the latest. He said humanoids are not yet capable enough for mass deployment, citing limitations in AI models that power decision-making as the industry's biggest bottleneck.
"Relative to the mood around World Robot Conference and Unitree's spectacular IPO, Wang Xingxing was notably sober about current capabilities," said Georg Stieler, head of automation at robotics consultancy Stieler.
Unitree is the world's largest producer of robot dogs and the second-biggest maker of humanoid robots by shipments, according to industry data. The company gained fame with choreographed robot performances on Chinese television and is increasingly deploying machines in industrial settings. Its IPO prospectus shows most customers are universities and research institutions.
Wang said Unitree's biggest current investment in capital and manpower is in world models. He acknowledged the company is "lagging behind" in real-world application of physical AI models. Even so, he expects the sector to enter a decade of rapid autonomous evolution as AI language models improve themselves.
Wang He, founder of Chinese robotic startup Galbot, offered a more specific target. He expects the sector's "ChatGPT moment" to arrive by 2028, defined as robots performing about 70% to 80% of everyday tasks without specialized training. "With continued accumulation of data and further technological breakthroughs, we expect to reach the 'ChatGPT moment' for embodied intelligence by 2028," he said.
China's 97% Share Meets US Import Ban #
China delivered over 40,000 humanoids in the first half of this year alone, accounting for 97% of global shipments, according to a Chinese humanoid industry body report released Thursday. Beijing sees robots as a solution to a shrinking workforce caused by demographic decline, betting they can replace human labor in repetitive, low-value and dangerous settings.
Humanoid robots have become a new front in U.S.-China technology rivalry. Last month the U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned future imports of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots, citing national security concerns. The move dealt a blow to Chinese producers.
Several companies at the World Robot Conference told Reuters they were looking to expand overseas. While humanoids are gradually entering factory floors and logistics warehouses, they remain less efficient than human workers in most applications. The gap between market enthusiasm and technical readiness remains the industry's central tension.