(Feb 23): Honor Device Co will unveil its first humanoid robot later this week, joining a rush by Chinese companies into a burgeoning sector of new technology.
The robot, aimed at consumer services such as shopping assistance, will make its debut at the MWC Barcelona tech conference this weekend, the Shenzhen-based smartphone maker said on Monday. Honor, which went independent from Huawei Technologies Co in 2020, says it will be first among its peers to enter the humanoid segment, though Huawei is also developing artificial intelligence (AI) models for such tasks. Honor will also show off its latest AI advancements, under the banner of what it calls the Honor Robot Phone.
The race to build AI into physical products is now led by Chinese startups like Unitree, whose machines were featured in a spectacular acrobatic showcase during the country’s Lunar New Year gala broadcast. Honor has set up a multibillion-dollar initiative to expand into new industries, with a focus on AI and novel applications. Like rivals Xiaomi Corp, Oppo and Vivo, the company is also building its own agentic AI services that will be integrated into its software for smartphones and other devices.
Closely held Honor, which has backing from the Shenzhen government’s investment vehicle and an array of state-owned enterprises, has said it’s on track to a public listing, though it hasn’t yet fixed a timeline. Recent debuts by Chinese AI-focused companies, such as large language model developer Zhipu, have been greeted with enthusiasm by investors seeking domestic competitors to the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic PBC.
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