Yushu founder predicts robot industry threshold next year amid AI advancements

Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, stated at the 2026 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen that the robotics industry or the models within it are likely to reach a critical inflection point in the coming year. Speaking at the event, Wang noted that the current level of focus and belief in AI across the globe, including his own, remains insufficient. He suggested that with the release of GPT-6, physical AI is showing signs of breakthrough, potentially within the next one to three years. He identified the alignment between AI model inputs/outputs and real robots as the primary hurdle for embodied intelligence to surpass ChatGPT's achievements. Wang further indicated that commercial service applications are expected to see deployment faster than in the home or industrial sectors. Regarding Unitree's future strategy, he revealed the company will concentrate on advancing robot brain technology while actively seeking global collaborations to push forward in the field of physical AI.