Produced by Chi Energy Tech

The humanoid robot industry is experiencing a surge in development. Leapmotor has assembled a team of dozens to embark on preliminary research, while Topstar Technology has forged a partnership with Huawei. Xpeng aims to mass-produce humanoid robots and flying cars by 2026, and Li Auto, amidst promoting pure electric vehicles, has hinted at venturing into the robot domain.

● In terms of investment and collaboration, Zhongding plans to invest 1 billion yuan in constructing a headquarters and parts center. Longsheng Holding has acquired Weihan Intelligence, Wantong has partnered with Pangu, Zhiyuan has invested in Hill, Fuda intends to acquire Changban equity, and Xiangxin has sealed a cooperation agreement for key components, leading to a surge in its share price.

● In product technology, UBTECH has unveiled its maiden robot and signed a deal with Easyhome. Efort has presented a prototype, and Songyan Power has released a continuously flipping robot, receiving technical support from Leyard. Digital Huaxia has secured funding to accelerate its commercialization efforts. Additionally, Huawei has filed for a trademark, signaling a potential launch of its own brand. Rumors also suggest that Company T is involved in related order procurement.

Highlights

● Leapmotor's Zhu Jiangming: A dedicated team of dozens is currently in the preliminary research phase, leveraging the company's existing AI algorithm team and independent computing resources. The future products are targeted at the B-end market, primarily aimed at addressing industrial scenarios such as assembly in Leapmotor factories, substituting manual labor, and enhancing work efficiency.

● Li Xiang, founder of Li Auto: During the "2024 Li Auto AI Talk" live broadcast, he affirmed that Li Auto's entry into the robot field is imminent, though not immediate. The company must first master L4-level autonomous driving technology.

Cars are essentially contactless robots operating in highly standardized environments—roads. If even "simple" scenarios like cars cannot achieve a high level of automation, more sophisticated AI robots will face significant challenges in reaching high intelligence.

● Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. applied for the registration of the "MATEROBOT" trademark on February 13, with registration number 83432155 under international classification 9 (scientific instruments). This covers a wide range of goods and services, including telepresence robots, chatbot software, user-programmable humanoid robots, smartphones, and humanoid robots for assistance, entertainment, security monitoring, teaching, laboratory use, scientific research, and household cleaning and laundry.

Chi Energy Commentary: The robot industry is currently segmented as follows:

● Traditional robot enterprises: Focused on providing components and actuators;

● Innovative robot enterprises: Legged Robot, UBTECH, etc., represent the new wave in the robot industry;

● IT giants: ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba, etc., likely to enter spatial intelligence through AI cloud solutions;

● Automakers: BYD, Changan, GAC, Xpeng, Li Auto, etc.;

● ICT enterprises: Huawei, Xiaomi, DJI;

● Auto parts manufacturers: CATL, among almost all auto parts enterprises.

Summary: The robot sector exhibits significant overlap with the auto parts industry.