Unitree Robotics
A humanoid robot from Unitree Robotics during the Global Developer Conference in Shanghai on Feb. 21, 2025. Credit - Hector Retamal—AFP/Getty Images
At this year's Spring Festival Gala—China's most-watched broadcast—16 humanoid robots wearing red and white floral jackets took the stage, twirling handkerchiefs as part of a traditional dance. They were manufactured by Unitree, a Chinese robotics company that has gained global attention for its agile open-source robots seen in viral videos mimicking kung fu and tai chi moves. But Unitree products offer more than entertainment. Unitree's Go 2 robot dog—available from just $1,600, compared to Boston Dynamics' $75,000 'Spot'—has been deployed on Ukrainian battlefields and used for disaster relief and property security. One of China's 'six little dragons' revitalizing its tech sector and disrupting the worlds' (the best known of which is DeepSeek), Unitree is expanding across the country to meet demand. Founder Wang Xingxing likes to think big. 'Human beings may be the passers-by of the universe,' he has written, detailing the company's vision, 'but science and technology must be eternal.'
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