Nearly 30 Hangzhou companies showcased robots and related technologies at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing from Aug 19 to 23, highlighting the city's growing strength in embodied intelligence.

The conference took place in Beijing's Yizhuang area and featured Unitree Robotics, DEEP Robotics, as well as other Hangzhou companies across humanoid robots, quadruped robots, core components, brain-computer interfaces, dexterous hands, and industry solutions.

The shift from demonstrations to real-world applications was evident. DEEP Robotics showcased its DR02 quadruped robot performing inspection tasks in a simulated substation, while Hangzhou Shenhao Technology presented an explosion-proof inspection robot for oil fields and coal mines.

On Aug 19, Unitree Robotics made headlines by listing on the STAR Market, becoming the first humanoid robot company to debut on China's A-share market.

Hangzhou's embodied intelligence industry generated 106.8 billion yuan ($14.9 billion) in output last year, with more than 700 related companies. The city accounts for more than 80 percent of China's quadruped robot market and more than 50 percent of its humanoid robot market.

At the conference, Unitree founder Wang Xingxing said the industry's "ChatGPT moment" would come when robots could complete about 80 percent of tasks in 80 percent of unfamiliar environments. He estimated this could take two to 10 years.

The next challenge is making robots reliable enough for real-world jobs, with Hangzhou building an ecosystem spanning robot makers, components, software, and applications.