Topic / Subject
WIRED argues China is positioned to mass-produce affordable humanoid robots and could be the first to deploy “robot coworkers” at a meaningful scale.

TL;DR
The thesis is “EV playbook, but humanoids”: lots of companies, cheaper hardware, fast manufacturing scale, even if many demos are still limited or teleoperated.

Key Details

• WIRED says China has a huge and growing field of humanoid robot companies (including Unitree and “200-plus” other firms), with even domestic warnings about overcapacity.
• WIRED says Unitree’s humanoids are priced far below many U.S. counterparts (tens of thousands of dollars or less) and describes Unitree as targeting a multibillion-dollar IPO.
• WIRED cites forecasts projecting massive humanoid growth by the mid-2030s and beyond, with China expected to hold a large share.
• WIRED emphasizes many demos are still heavily teleoperated and limited, especially on real manipulation tasks.

Breakdown
WIRED’s point isn’t “robots are taking your job tomorrow.” It’s that the first country to make humanoids cheap and plentiful will shape where they show up first: factories, warehouses, logistics, and repetitive tasks where “good enough” wins.

The caution is also part of the story. If a robot needs frequent teleoperation or can’t reliably manipulate objects, it’s not a true coworker yet — it’s a demo with training wheels.

So the near-term race is less “who has the smartest robot” and more “who can ship the most reliable robot for the lowest price.”

What to Watch Next

• Whether prices keep falling fast enough to unlock real deployments.
• How quickly autonomy improves (less teleoperation, more real-world dexterity).
• Whether the U.S./Europe respond with major robotics industrial policy or subsidies.

Sources
WIRED — Your First Humanoid Robot Coworker Will Probably Be Chinese
WIRED Video — Your First Humanoid Robot Coworker Will Probably Be Chinese

Comment
Where do you think humanoid robots actually show up first: warehouses, hospitals, retail, or home care?