MirrorMe Technology's Bolt became the fastest running humanoid robot demonstrated outside computer simulations when it reached a top speed of 22 mph.

Back-flipping, nunchuck-weilding humanoid robots delighted and amazed viewers at China’s annual televised new-year extravaganza with their kung-fu choreography. But they – and their rivals who took to the stage Monday night – also carried a message about just how rapidly Chinese androids are advancing.

BEIJING — The Lunar New Year is coming, and China is on the move

At this year's CMG Spring Festival Gala, the world's most-watched television broadcast, four Chinese robotics powerhouses, namely Unitree, MagicLab, Galbot and Noetix, debuted their most advanced units to date. For the robotics industry, this was far more than a cultural performance; it was a high-stakes global product launch.

Humanoid robots compete in the 5v5 soccer during the day one of 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games. This week, China’s leading robotics minds gathered in Beijing for a hotly-anticipated, Olympics-style event dubbed the world’s first “Humanoid Robot Games

China’s humanoid robotics industry is bustling. More than 14,500 automatons were delivered last year worldwide, up from around 3,000 in 2024, according to company reports and estimates from Omdia, a research firm.

It’s warm bot-tied. Techsperts are sounding alarm bells following the release of an eerily realistic humanoid service bot named Moya with camera eyes and, most creepily, warm skin. Dystopian footage shows the lifelike automaton interacting with guests during its debut at the Zhangjiang Robotics Valley in Shanghai.

Nvidia-led researchers unveiled DreamDojo, a robot “world model” trained on 44,000 hours of human egocentric video to help humanoid robots learn physical interaction faster, cheaper, and with more realistic real-time planning.

Organizers started a GoFundMe page, where the community can donate to the team’s chance to compete against the best in the world.