China humanoid robots could outrun humans, Unitree founder says

Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics. Photo from Weibo

"In a few months, by around mid-year, humanoid robots globally, especially in China, may run faster than humans," China Daily newspaper quoted Wang as saying at the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum on March 17. "Their 100-meter sprint times could drop below 10 seconds."

In February, a full-size humanoid robot named Bolt, developed by a robotics institute at Zhejiang University in collaboration with Hangzhou-based startups Mirror Me and Kaierda, reached a top speed of 10 meters per second, according to CGTN.

At that speed, the robot could theoretically complete a 100-meter dash in 10 seconds, approaching the world record of 9.58 seconds set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

During the interview, Wang cautioned that significant technological barriers remain before humanoid robotics can achieve a breakthrough comparable to the impact of ChatGPT on artificial intelligence.

He identified limited generalization as the main bottleneck, noting that robots can perform tasks with high accuracy in controlled environments but struggle to adapt when conditions change, limiting their effectiveness in real-world scenarios.

China humanoid robot Bolt, developed by a humanoid innovation institute at Zhejiang University, in collaboration with Hangzhou-based robotics startups Mirror Me and Kaierda, reached a record speed of 10 meters per second in February 2026. Video courtesy of Mirror Me

Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics was recently ranked the world’s second-largest humanoid robotics firm by shipments and installations, according to reports cited by the South China Morning Post.

Research firm Omdia estimated Unitree shipped about 4,200 humanoid robots, accounting for 32% of the global market, while Counterpoint Research reported the company represented 26.4% of worldwide installations, or roughly 4,224 units.