Mr Viral
Weeks after androids performed a Zhang Yimou-directed dance number broadcast to an audience of hundreds of millions during China’s Spring Festival Gala, humanoid robots have become a highly sought-after rental in the country.
Robots, many of them Unitree G1 models similar to those featured in the Gala, are being offered for rent on e-commerce platforms like the Alibaba-owned Xianyu, Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper reported Wednesday.
Clients pay anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of yuan to book the machines for promotional events, exhibitions, and store openings, according to Xianyu merchants.
Unitree Robotics — one of the “six little dragons” at the forefront of China’s startup scene — unveiled its G1 model last May and began selling them directly to consumers in mid-February, priced from 99,000 yuan ($13,700). The Gala featured the more upscale H1 model, which costs 650,000 yuan.
Unitree has heavily promoted its devices at high-profile events in recent years, from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to the Super Bowl pregame show.
But it was the Spring Festival Gala, held this year on Jan. 28, that made the robots a must-have, merchants say. The program, which attracted a reported 2.8 billion views across new media platforms, featured an extended segment in which Unitree H1 robots danced and twirled handkerchiefs alongside human performers.
Zhao Binran, CEO of Shanghai Bailun Culture Media Co., Ltd., told The Paper his company noticed a significant surge in demand for robot rentals almost immediately after the Gala, with Bailun struggling to keep up with inquiries and orders since February.
“Previously, there were only one or two client groups inquiring daily, but now there are 10 to 20 groups, with a notable increase in conversion rates: Two to three out of every 10 inquiries result in a deal,” Zhao said.
Bailun paid roughly 200,000 yuan per G1 robot last October, and now rents them out for 10,000 yuan per day, Zhao said. Exhibition guides and event planning account for the highest proportion of orders, at around 50%, followed by brand advertising shoots, corporate receptions, and vloggers.
Robotics startups are big business in China, which is home to as many as 56% of the publicly traded firms involved in robot development and manufacturing, according to Morgan Stanley. Investors and policymakers see a big market, with robotics potentially deployed in everything from high-tech manufacturing to elder care.
Another of the six little dragons, Deep Robotics, is developing robots for industrial applications.
Despite recent advances, however, robots like the G1 have only limited functionality, according to Zhao. Clients still see them primarily as “marketing symbols,” he said.
(Header image: A robot performs before a Village Super League match in Rongjiang County, Guizhou province, March 14, 2025. VCG)
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings