Let capital's "long-distance run" accompany humanoid robots' "growth"

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■ Jia Li

By the South China Sea, along the Wanquan River, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 is approaching as scheduled. Inside and outside the venue, humanoid robots are undoubtedly the dazzling “stars”—at the sub-forum on “Advancements and Leaps in Humanoid Robots,” robots like Embodied Technology 3.0 and Starry Era Q5 engage in dialogue with guests; throughout the venue, robots take on actual tasks such as assisting hosts, providing venue services, and environmental sanitation on land, sea, and air.

Moving from the “show stage” to the “industrial front line,” humanoid robots are transitioning from flashy performances to real-world applications. At the same time, investment in this field is surging. As of mid-March, the financing amount in the embodied intelligence industry has exceeded 37 billion yuan this year, and the IPO application of Yushu Technology on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board has been accepted. However, financing in key components like dexterous hands, joints, and perception systems remains at early rounds, with small scales and low valuations. Moreover, capital is no longer paying for flashy technology demonstrations but is more focused on genuine orders, repurchase rates, and the like. This means that companies lacking real scene landing capabilities may be eliminated in the process of “bursting the bubble.”

The author believes that to allow capital to endure the “marathon,” it is necessary to support the continuous maturation of humanoid robots.

Firstly, guide capital to build a multi-layered investment ecosystem. It is essential to encourage “national teams” and industrial capital to play a strategic guiding role while also leaving space for market-oriented venture capital and early-stage investment. Localities can guide capital towards hardware sectors like dexterous hands and high-precision sensors through the establishment of special guiding funds and tax incentives. Additionally, capital can appropriately extend the investment assessment cycle, tolerate reasonable trial and error by companies, and avoid distorting innovation directions in response to short-term performance pressures.

Secondly, promote “big and small brain collaboration” to drive technological iteration through scenarios. At the Boao Forum for Asia, “big and small brain collaborative evolution” has become a consensus. Currently, industrial scenarios, due to their standardization and clear task objectives, have become the “main battlefield” for the landing of humanoid robots. The author suggests that localities use B-end scenarios like manufacturing and logistics as entry points to build a virtuous cycle of scenario openness, data accumulation, technological iteration, and scale replication, while also constructing industry-level data platforms to solve common problems such as high data collection costs and lack of unified standards. Only when robots are “capable, reliable, and efficient” on real production lines can their commercial value be genuinely realized, prompting increased capital investment.

Thirdly, improve the governance system to delineate a “safety boundary” for the industry. At the Boao Forum for Asia, issues such as safety, privacy, and responsibility boundaries have been frequently mentioned. As capital drives rapid technological iteration, relevant norms and standards must keep pace. Here, the author suggests that localities expedite the formulation of safety standards for humanoid robots, data collection boundaries, and rules for responsibility identification. Clear rules help stabilize capital expectations and reduce investment concerns.

China’s complete industrial chain, rich application scenarios, and strong policy enforcement provide a unique development soil for the humanoid robot industry. However, to truly achieve industrial takeoff, a “long-distance running” spirit that can endure loneliness is required. Only when capital resonates synchronously with technology, scenarios, and governance can humanoid robots truly move from the “stage” of Boao into the “production line” of factories and integrate into the lives of the public, ultimately benefiting countless households.

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Editor: Gao Jia