China Issues Rare Bubble Warning Forming In Humanoid Robotics

China’s top economic-planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), issued a rare warning earlier today about the emergence of bubble conditions in the country’s humanoid robotics industry. This warning comes just as Elon Musk is planning to scale production of the Tesla Optimus robot next year. 

Bloomberg cites comments from NDRC spokeswoman Li Chao, who warned that more than 150 companies and startups are developing nearly identical robots, creating the risk of a classic investment bubble that could trigger a bust cycle and stifle real innovation.

“Frontier industries have long grappled with the challenge of balancing the speed of growth against the risk of bubbles, an issue now confronting the humanoid robot sector as well,” Li warned. 

Humanoid robotics has exploded in popularity since Unitree’s robot dog with a flamethrower attachment. We’ve purchased one from an importer (minus flamethrower attachment) to see what all the excitement is about…

Taking a look at the Solactive China Humanoid Robotics Index –  a thematic equity index tracking Chinese companies involved in the commercialization of humanoid and robotics technologies –  is up 28.5% year to date and doubled from 2024 lows. 

Related: 

• Goldman Finds “Inflection Point” With Humanoid Robots; We Tested Unitree’s Robodog

• Goldman’s Chat With Top Robotics Firm Reveals Skynet Humanoid Timeline

• China Humanoid Robotics Index Jumps After Unitree Debuts “Stellar Hunter”

Latest reports:

• Humanoid Robot Roundup: Tesla Kicks Off Optimus Pilot Production As Goldman Tours China’s Supply Chain

• Humanoid Robot Roundup: Auto Industry Poised To Lead First Wave Of Adoption

Citi forecasts the humanoid robot industry could reach $7 trillion by 2050, although mass adoption remains a 2030s story.