China ships 5,500 humanoid robots, challenges U.S. rivals

Unitree Robotics reported delivering more than 5,500 humanoid robots to end customers in 2025 and said it produced over 6,500 humanoid units the same year. The company excluded wheeled and other robot formats when reporting the shipment figure.

The deliveries reflect machines sold and physically shipped to customers overseas, with manufacturers targeting buyers in Europe and Southeast Asia. Devere Group CEO Nigel Green highlighted the volume of exports and contrasted them with demand in the United States tied to financing for data centers and AI infrastructure.

Green argued that China’s overseas hardware orders differ from the vendor-supported financing seen in U.S. AI buildouts. He said, “China’s export wave looks nothing like that. It is hardware shipped to real ports and installed on real factory floors overseas, demand that shows up in customs data rather than in vendor-financing footnotes.”

Industry estimates place Tesla and Figure AI at a few hundred humanoid shipments or fewer in 2025, figures that are lower than Unitree’s disclosed deliveries. Chinese companies are also creating near-term commercial activity through rentals and events; AGIBOT reported that its SHAREBOT rental platform logged more than 5,500 orders in its first three months for exhibitions, performances and promotions.

Beijing’s World Robot Conference, scheduled for Aug. 19-23, lists more than 300 exhibitors, over 2,000 exhibits and more than 150 products making public appearances for the first time. Procurement sessions set for Aug. 20 are expected to indicate whether overseas interest translates into formal purchase orders.

U.S. policy actions have narrowed the American market for some foreign-made machines. On July 28 the Federal Communications Commission adopted a rule that generally blocks new foreign-produced humanoid and quadruped robot models from receiving the authorization required for importation, marketing or sale in the United States, while leaving previously authorized devices and federal purchases unaffected.

Separately, several financial institutions and Nvidia have signed memorandums of understanding for proposed financing platforms that aim to mobilize more than $500 billion of third-party capital over time. The planned structures could include residual-value support covering as much as 25% of some equipment financings.

Green warned investors about concentrated exposure to U.S. AI companies that depend on large financing arrangements and recommended adding exposure tied to overseas order books for robotics, automation and industrial hardware. He said such diversification could reduce reliance on financing-driven demand.

Manufacturers and investors continue to face policy, execution and demand risks on both sides of the comparison. Procurement outcomes in Beijing and changes to export or procurement rules in other markets will affect where manufacturers sell and how supply chains develop.