China's UBTECH Robotics is stepping up the use of humanoid robots in the Japanese market. Deployments at Japanese companies, including Hitachi and Honda, are advancing, while revenue reached approximately ¥1.269 billion in the first half of 2026.
UBTECH is expanding orders in overseas markets and announced on 10 September that the value of overseas orders received over the preceding month or so had exceeded ¥50 million. The contracts include Walker C1, a humanoid robot for commercial services, and U1, which has a human-like appearance. The company also signed contracts with European customers at IFA 2026 in Germany.
UBTECH founder Zhou Jian (周剣) became absorbed in robot development after seeing ASIMO and founded UBTECH in 2012. The company initially expanded its business mainly through educational and guidance robots, but in recent years has shifted toward conducting demonstrations and deployments in factories.
Unitree and UBTECH grew through different paths, but against the backdrop of the recent physical AI boom, UBTECH has strengthened its system for accumulating real-world data from industrial humanoids operating in the field. Walker S2 is designed for continuous operation, with autonomous charging capabilities, a maximum payload of 15 kg and an assumed working height of approximately 1.8 m.
UBTECH is strengthening its ties with Japanese companies. It has conducted work testing with Hitachi Elevators and Hitachi China Research Institute, is advancing pilot deployments through Japanese distributors, and reached a domestic distributor agreement in 2025. It has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Honda Trading's Chinese subsidiary, while its customer base is expanding to include companies such as BYD and Airbus.
In the Japanese market, UBTECH's suitability for operating environments and deployment track record are becoming more prominent than Unitree's, raising the possibility that the adoption of industrial humanoids could accelerate ahead of Europe and the United States.
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