On October 22 at the 2026 World Physical AI Conference and Unitree Partner Ecosystem Conference in Hangzhou, Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing said the company’s G1 humanoid robot has reached cumulative production of roughly 10,000 to 20,000 units since its May 2024 launch, calling it the world’s best-selling humanoid robot.
Unitree G1 production and conference showcase
The conference, held under the theme “Advancing Together, Growing as One,” featured a main forum area of more than 4,000 square meters and over 40 exhibition zones and drew more than 3,000 guests. The venue displayed Unitree’s full lineup of robot products.
In his keynote, Wang said that for top large-model developers, model self-evolution has to some extent already been achieved internally—”models write their own code and collect their own data, with humans only needing to provide moderate guidance.” He added that it will still take 5 to 10 years for such technological breakthroughs to spread to every user, which is why the public has yet to feel their impact deeply.
Physical AI and the challenge of embodied intelligence
Wang stated bluntly that Physical AI has “already shown the first signs of being broken through.” He said that for Embodied Intelligence to cross the so-called ChatGPT moment, the core challenge is ensuring AI model inputs and outputs are precisely aligned with real robots. On the order of deployment, he believes commercial service scenarios will advance faster than home and industrial applications.
Wang also said global attention to and belief in AI remains generally insufficient, including his own, echoing his broader assessment that while technological capability has seen breakthroughs, commercial diffusion still needs time to ferment.
