In Depth: Investors Warn Developing Humanoid Robots Will Be a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Most companies don’t yet have a viable business model, and widespread adoption is likely years away, observers say

Investors in China’s tech startup space are urging caution on backing humanoid robotics ventures, warning that while the industry is rich in flashy demonstrations and bold claims of mass production, it still lacks solid commercial progress.

“We believe most embodied robotics right now don’t demonstrate a truly viable commercial model. Right now, for a robot to be useful, it just needs to be a machine that can take on human labor with a good use-case scenario, like flying cameras and robotic vacuum cleaners,” said Wu Shichun, founding partner at Beijing-based venture capital firm Plum Ventures, on the sidelines of the Beyond Expo held between May 21 and 24 in Macao.

“Right now, most humanoid robots are used for entertainment purposes, while relatively lacking utility in household and industrial scenarios … they are not transformed into meaningful productivity,” Wu told reporters.

Hangzhou-based startup Unitree Robotics rose to prominence in January after about a dozen of its humanoid robots danced a jig on Chinese TV at the Spring Festival Gala, with the firm announcing in February it had completed a nearly 1 billion yuan ($138 million) Series B2 funding round. Most recently, a group of 21 humanoid robots competing in an April half-marathon in Beijing and a WWE-like boxing match on May 25 between humanoid participants also made headlines.

Yet these spectacles