Hong Kong-backed humanoid robot maker wants to take on tech giants

Investment in the production of humanoid robots has soared globally this year, as firms aim to have machines relieve humans in tedious or dangerous tasks

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The Galbot robot is demonstrated at the launch ceremony for Hong Kong Investment Corp and Galbot’s joint push into AI, July 19, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 9:00am, 24 Jul 2024

Galbot, a Beijing-based robotics start-up backed by the Hong Kong government, aims to take on tech giants in the global humanoid robot market, its co-founder said in an interview.

One year-old Galbot will use Hong Kong as a “window” to introduce its robot to overseas markets, mainly in developed countries and regions where labour costs are relatively high, Galbot co-founder Yao Tengzhou said in an interview with the Post last Friday, after a ceremony marking its partnership with Hong Kong Investment Corp.

That would pit the company against major tech firms who are betting on human-shaped robots to transform industries, including Tesla, which is planning to have “genuinely useful” humanoid robots for internal use next year and production for other companies in 2026, Tesla’s Elon Musk said on Monday.

According to Yao, Galbot is able to compete against tech giants on developing embodied artificial intelligence (AI), physical objects integrated with AI systems to engage with their environments.

Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong Financial Secretary (centre), watches a demonstration of the Galbot robot in Hong Kong, July 19 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee

The arrival of a new technological wave will level the playing field for small teams and large companies by rendering incumbents’ previously accumulated technological processes less relevant, Yao said.

But competition will be “extremely fierce”, Yao added.