American investors are touring China’s robot factories to size up the competition
Robotics may be Silicon Valley's latest obsession, but China has spent years building up its industry.
Silicon Valley venture capitalists are embarking on tours of China's robot factories to gain insight into the competitive landscape. The goal is not to identify potential investment targets, but to assess rivals to their portfolio companies. Some investors are paying up to $10,000 for escorted tours that include factory visits, translators, accommodation, and executive dinners.
Previously, one investor jokingly suggested smuggling a humanoid robot back to the United States. However, this year, the idea of visiting China is being taken seriously as venture capitalists seek to understand China's capabilities in robotics and hardware.
Ryan Cunningham, co-founder of Edgerunner Ventures, is organizing a trip for 10 investors in April. The trend of investors heading to China has emerged as venture capitalists gauge China's hardware prowess to understand the challenges American robotics startups face. Cunningham visited Shanghai last year for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where he realized the need to learn from China's approach to robotics.
The reason behind these trips is not to invest in Chinese companies, but to size up competitors of US portfolio companies. China has established a dominant position in crucial aspects of robotics, including manufacturing, supply chains, deployment, and data collection. Chinese companies, such as Unitree and AgiBot, together shipped 71% of the world's humanoid robots last year, and control 63% of the global supply chain for humanoid-robot components. Meanwhile, most American humanoid robots are still in development and not available for purchase.
The stakes are high for US investors in robotics and physical AI, as they bet on advances in AI, cheaper hardware, labor shortages, and reshoring manufacturing to create new technology giants. Robotics is increasingly viewed as a national-security concern, with the Federal Communications Commission recently banning new foreign-made advanced robotic devices due to unacceptable risks to national security.
Despite China's head start in robotics, American investors are traveling to the country to gain a competitive edge. G2 Venture Partners, a firm specializing in growth-stage companies for physical industries, recently sent partners to Shenzhen and Beijing to learn from Chinese robotics and autonomous-vehicle companies. The investors were impressed by the quality of Chinese products, such as Xiaomi's electric car, and the scale of data collection efforts behind Chinese robotics companies.
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