Published on Sep. 18, 2026

UBTech Robotics has launched a new factory in Liuzhou where robots manufacture other robots. The plant, located in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, began operations on September 12, reported the news portal Zhongguo Xinwen Wang on September 12, 2026 (in Chinese).

Some reports suggested that the facility can produce one robot every ten minutes, aiming for over 10,000 units annually. These figures describe the plant's design capacity, however. It will likely take before the plant actually builds that many robots.

The plant mainly builds UBTech’s Walker S and Cruzr humanoids. Four Cruzr humanoids work on the plant's own shop floor, unloading pallets, stacking goods, and carrying material to the line. So there is some truth to the idea that robots are making robots.

More precisely, they help with certain parts of the production process. Final assembly combines collaborative robot arms, powered assist devices, autonomous logistics vehicles, and workstations that rotate 360 degrees, while a digital “smart brain” schedules the whole factory.

Still, it is the first plant in Guangxi in which robots build robots in a closed loop, according to the report. Together with Siemens, UBTech developed a digital twin that simulates the entire workshop on a computer before anything is built on the floor.

Each robot receives its own identification code as soon as its components enter production, and the torque of every screw is recorded in real time. Every unit requires more than 2,000 screws of more than 50 types.

While this is impressive, there will be no armies of robots marching or rolling out the factory door anytime soon. UBTech is growing very fast, but it sold only 1,079 full-size humanoids in 2025.

Global cumulative shipments of humanoid robots reached 19,100 units by the end of June 2026, according to Trendforce. It is fair to say that UBTech's planning is forward-looking to say the least.

Skeptical observers stress that a factory with a 10,000-unit capacity incurs costs before orders arrive. UBTech reported 2 billion yuan (about US$296 million) in revenue for 2025 but posted a net loss of 700 million yuan (about US$104 million).

The choice of Liuzhou in the somewhat remoted region of Guangxi was not random. Liuzhou is a traditional manufacturing hub, and its government is under pressure to attract high-tech companies. Liuzhou is already home to 46 sizable companies in AI devices and robotics, city officials said.

The plant will draw on Liuzhou’s manufacturing base so that humanoids can keep iterating and training at real workstations, UBTech founder Zhou Jian said, according to Zhongguo Xinwen Wang.

“The local government needs a flagship project for industrial upgrading. UBTECH needs a production base and access to real-world application scenarios. Both sides get what they need,” wrote the robotics column Zhineng Jiqiren Yanjiu on the OFweek portal (in Chinese). (in Chinese).

The location is also close to ASEAN markets across China's southern border. Zhou is clearly counting on the growth UBTech needs to become commercially viable.

Even so, going from just over 1,000 to 10,000 units per year will be quite a challenge. “UBTECH makes a big bet,” Zhineng Jiqiren Yanjiu headlined its analysis. “UBTECH is using scale to buy time and betting on the future with production capacity,” the author wrote. Then again, UBTech already sold 921 big humanoids between January and June 2026.

Skeptics point to the small number of robots built so far and to UBTech’s continuing losses. Yet the new plant shows that humanoid production is becoming a serious industrial process.

The case also demonstrates how confidently Chinese entrepreneurs are betting on a future with embodied AI and are willing to take risks to stake their claims..

Empyrean Technology, China’s top electronic design automation (EDA) software maker, is shifting from “AI-assisted tools” to “AI-autonomous design,” said Chairman Liu Weiping at the International Integrated Circuit Innovation Expo in Shenzhen, reported ijiwei on September 9, 2026.

Empyrean’s Andes FPD tool now automatically generates display panel layouts, reducing a four-week task to one week, according to Liu. Engineers set goals and requirements, AI executes, and humans make decisions. Future pricing may depend on AI agent usage, Liu noted.

Recent policy moves by the Chinese government point into the same direction. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released an “AI + Software” action plan on September 11, calling for deeper AI integration with industrial software, including EDA, reported Yazhou Ribao on September 13, 2026.

U.S. export restrictions have pushed Beijing to seek self-sufficiency in semiconductors, including control over chip-design software. Companies such as Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens dominate this market.

Cadence introduced its Chinese-made “ChipStack AI Super Agent” in June. Central planners see hope that the new generation of AI design tools will let domestic vendors catch up and make the country independent from American software in this field.

BAIC Foton unveiled its first AI mobile medical vehicle at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, reported Jingji Cankao Bao on September 11, 2026.

The 30-square-meter vehicle houses ten AI-powered medical products, including fundus screening, ECG monitoring, ultrasound diagnostics, pediatric consultations, and an AI agent for digital radiography, reported Fengmian Xinwen on September 12, 2026.

Trained on a domestic dataset of 4 million cases, the agent handles everything from image capture to report writing, effectively placing a radiologist on board.

The bus, adorned with snow-capped mountains and yaks, bears the slogan “Beijing’s Assistance to Qinghai.” It supports the capital’s counterpart assistance program for Yushu in Qinghai, a staff member told Fengmian Xinwen.

Top-tier hospital screening has been inaccessible to patients in China’s remote counties. This bus, equipped with clinically validated AI agents and a 5G link, aims to change that.

National Health Commission representatives attended the launch, highlighting its political significance. For BAIC Foton, a commercial-vehicle maker, the bus tests a business model built on software.

UniForce AI, a Shanghai startup, raised nearly 50 million yuan (about US$7.4 million) in an angel-plus round led by the Shanghai Future Industry Fund and the city’s Science and Technology Innovation Investment Group, reported Touzhong Wang recently.

The company specializes in AI for engineering, with nuclear fusion as its first field of applicaton. Traditional plasma simulations take hours or days. UniForce AI trains neural operators and diffusion models to predict directly how physical fields evolve, and claims they work tens to hundreds of times faster.

Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment has invested more than 1 billion yuan (about US$148 million) in the fusion supply chain since 2024, attracting nearly 10 billion yuan (about US$1.5 billion) in outside capital.

If the models prove themselves in fusion research, UniForce AI plans to expand into oil and gas, nuclear power, electronics, and aerospace.

CaoCao, the ride-hailing platform backed by the carmaker Geely, now allows passengers in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou to order rides through Doubao, ByteDance’s AI app.

Users enter their destination by text or voice. Doubao plans the route, offers vehicles and prices, and processes payment within the app, reported Yicai on September 10, 2026.

The assistant also suggests rides when users inquire about routes, restaurants, or entertainment. Passengers who mention a wheelchair or limited mobility are offered an accessible ride service, now being piloted in parts of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

This service brings CaoCao orders from AI channels, reducing reliance on traditional ride-hailing aggregators.

CaoCao is expected to connect with other “AI super gateways,” where future orders will originate, analysts expect.

This week’s Must Read explores how these agents are becoming new entry points for online purchases and how China’s superapps are pushing back.