Wang, 35, is the founder and CEO of Unitree – one of China's top developers of quadrupedal and humanoid robots. — SCMP
Wang Xingxing, the robotics aficionado who founded China’s industry-leading Unitree Robotics, made headlines when the 35-year-old was seated in the front row at President Xi Jinping’s high-profile business symposium earlier this week.
Born in 1990, Wang was the youngest among an elite group of executives that included Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei, Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings founder Pony Ma Huateng, who all attended the Monday meeting. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
Wang’s appearance landed him in the spotlight once again after Unitree’s humanoid robots stole the show with a folk dance performance during the Spring Festival gala aired last month by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
“Artificial-intelligence-driven robots are evolving at an incredibly fast pace, surpassing my expectations. Every day brings new surprises,” Wang, who is also the company CEO, told CCTV after the Xi symposium. “I believe that by the end of the year, humanoid robots will reach a whole new level.”
With Unitree remaining privately owned, investors have been chasing its suppliers instead. Zhejiang Changsheng Sliding Bearings’ stock price in Shenzhen jumped 62% in the past five trading days and over 600% in the past 12 months. Ningbo Shuanglin Auto Parts surged 575% from a year ago.
Amid the frenzy around robots with embedded artificial intelligence (AI), Wang has become one of China’s hottest entrepreneurs. Unitree marketing director Huang Jiawei, speaking to the Post just ahead of the Lunar New Year, said Wang was deeply involved in research and development at the company, personally interviewed candidates and oversaw nearly every aspect of operations.
The CEO was always on the front lines, often working overtime, said Huang. Wang declined an interview request from the Post.
Wang’s obsession with robotics traces back to his childhood. Born in Ningbo in China’s southeastern Zhejiang province, he had a knack for hands-on creativity from an early age. Wang spent his free time building aircraft models and running small experiments. By middle school, he was assembling miniature turbojet engines, according to Chinese media reports.
Yet his talents were not favoured by China’s exam-driven education system. While Wang was good at science, he struggled with English, a mandatory subject in the national curriculum. In past interviews with local media, Wang said he had been frustrated by English throughout his school years.
A teacher from Wang’s middle school told the Post that the future entrepreneur did not stand out among his classmates. He was considered an ordinary boy who was introverted and well-behaved – just like most children, the teacher said.
In 2009, Wang enrolled at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, majoring in mechatronics engineering. As a first-year student, he built his first small bipedal robot capable of walking a few steps, on a budget of just 200 yuan (RM121). His cost-conscious approach, honed through years of “do-it-yourself” projects on limited pocket money, went on to become a key to Unitree’s success.
In 2011, Wang got his first patent for a “multi-force feedback device for fingers”. His graduation thesis focused on the development of a brushless DC motor controller, according to a WeChat article from the university.
On Chinese social media platform RedNote, Wang shared a list of over 100 books he borrowed from the university’s library at the time, mostly covering physics, maths, computer science and electronics. He was particularly impressed by AI Techniques for Game Programming.
“This was my first systematic read on AI,” he wrote in a post. “Neural networks were still a niche topic back then, and this book was in a forgotten corner of the library.”
In 2013, Wang began to pursue a master’s degree at Shanghai University. Again, a poor English exam score had prevented him from attending a top-tier university, but that did not stop his inventive drive.
In 2015, he spent around 20,000 yuan (RM12,181) developing a prototype quadruped robot, XDog. Departing from the hydraulic-powered designs from US start-up Boston Dynamics, Wang opted for an electric-motor-driven plan. The innovation earned him 80,000 yuan (RM48,726) in prize money from a local competition.
After graduating in 2016, Wang briefly joined Shenzhen-based drone maker DJI. Soon, however, the media coverage and response that XDog received at home and abroad, coupled with 2mil yuan (RM1.21mil) in funding from an angel investor, prompted Wang to launch Unitree in August 2016.
The name Unitree is a combination of the words “universe” and “tree”. It was inspired by the Chinese phrase “lighting up the technology tree”, which appears in strategy video games when players unlock new capabilities. The phrase has become synonymous with innovation and invention.
Unitree was the world’s first company to sell high-performance quadruped and humanoid robots to the public. Its products have appeared at big events such as the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. As US rivals such as Tesla and Nvidia have strengthened their efforts in humanoid robotics, China has also increased support for its local industry with a slew of government guidelines and state-led funds.
Based in a modest start-up park in Hangzhou’s Binjiang district, Unitree employs nearly 500 people. It is expanding into an adjacent office building, while its factory is scaling up production to meet surging demand. The firm is also setting up a new branch in Shanghai.
Last August, Wang returned to Shanghai University to deliver a speech at the first-year student convocation. “Find something you love, work hard, keep learning, and never stop improving,” he told the audience. “Since childhood, I’ve wanted to use technology to create something valuable – to prove myself, to change the world. That has always been my biggest motivation and my driving force.” – South China Morning Post
Unlock 30% Savings on Ad-Free Access Now!
