In 1973, the world witnessed the birth of WABOT-1, the first humanoid robot. Fast forward fifty years, and the ultimate destination of this industry remains uncertain. It's torn between becoming companions for adults or household helpers, trapped in a web of ethical and technological dilemmas.

Founded in 2012, UBTECH Robotics has chosen a middle path: emphasizing the concept of 'emotional companionship.'

A Daring Bet

Earlier this year, UBTECH CEO Zhou Jian stated in an interview with 'LatePost' that his vision extended beyond simply creating sex robots. Instead, he aimed for robots with more complex movements, interactions, and facial expressions, hinting that 'perhaps in the future, people might even fall in love with them.'

On June 2, UBTECH's consumer brand, UWORLD, launched pre-sales on JD.com for the world's first full-size hyper-bionic humanoid robot, U1. The primary focus is on 'family emotional companionship.'

The U1 is available in two versions: male (183cm/42kg) and female (168cm/35.2kg). Promotional videos feature strikingly handsome males and beautiful females, with meticulous attention to detail, including hair.

The robot boasts 88 high-precision, movable joints with degrees of freedom, a battery life of 2 to 4 hours, Wi-Fi connectivity, local encryption for memory, customizable voice and appearance, support for IP collaborations, and includes both standard and care clothing in the package.

Interestingly, the introduction page bears the label 'Adults Only,' which easily evokes thoughts of certain tangible, underlying needs.

Before even showcasing its functions, UBTECH began collecting deposits, allowing users to pre-order by paying 3,000 yuan.

In 2025, online sales of AI toys in China soared by 394.9% year-on-year. Previously, Songyan Dynamics released 'Xiaoyue,' a companion robot with only a head, priced at 110,000 yuan, demonstrating the vast potential of the AI emotional companionship market.

As the 'first humanoid robot stock,' UBTECH has accumulated losses exceeding 4.2 billion yuan over the past four years. Its shipment volumes and profitability have been significantly surpassed by newcomers like Unitree. Facing severe financial challenges, seizing the position of 'the company making full-size bionic robots' is both audacious and bold.

Even if hyper-bionic humanoid robots successfully enter households, UBTECH must still confront two age-old questions: Will they be socially acceptable? Will they gain capital recognition?

Seeking a Shortcut Amidst Challenges

China's single adult population has surpassed 200 million, and the elderly population aged 60 and above has reached 320 million, all potential consumers for the 'AI companionship business.' Data from China Research and Intelligence also indicates that the Chinese AI emotional companionship market is expected to exceed 59.5 billion yuan by 2028.

Additionally, the 'Interim Measures for the Administration of AI Personified Interactive Services' issued in 2026 explicitly includes AI emotional interaction services under specialized regulation.

This suggests that while the demand for 'emotional companionship' is widespread, it must not cross the 'adult content' red line and must withstand public scrutiny regarding ethics, morality, and privacy.

So why is UBTECH taking the risk of attracting attention with a product resembling a 'silicone doll'? Essentially, it's a precise business decision made in response to the commercialization challenges of the humanoid robot industry and the company's own financial pressures.

Currently, the humanoid robot industry is generally trapped in a dilemma where 'technological ideals are disconnected from commercial implementation.'

The B-side industrial sector is highly competitive, with companies like Tesla, Unitree, and Zhiyuan focusing on factory handling and inspection scenarios, intensifying price wars and parameter competition. Moreover, real demand is highly concentrated in scientific research and education, with large-scale industrial implementation still in its infancy.

The C-side household chore scenario is far from mature. At present, humanoid robots generally have a single-charge endurance of only 2-4 hours, with a task success rate of less than 50% in unstructured household environments. They are unable to reliably perform daily chores like laundry and cooking. Promoting them as 'household assistants' could easily lead to a reputation crisis due to their limited functionality.

Emotional companionship, on the other hand, offers a differentiated approach. It does not require robots to possess complex movement and labor capabilities. The core demand is a realistic appearance and emotional interaction, which precisely matches the current technological limits while targeting the emotional needs of solo dwellers, empty-nesters, and anime enthusiasts. It's a compromise between technological maturity and market demand.

Secondly, UBTECH has been experiencing consecutive years of losses. This attempt can be seen as a shortcut to boost sales and capital enthusiasm under financial pressure with low investment.

In March 2024, stimulated by the concepts of AI large models and humanoid robots, UBTECH's stock price nearly doubled in a single day on March 6, subsequently surging to 328 HKD per share, with a total market capitalization exceeding 130 billion HKD. However, a month later, the situation reversed, with Tencent offloading its entire stake for over 1 billion HKD in cash, and capital ruthlessly shifting to Unitree. Even long-time ally Xia Zuoquan sold off a significant amount of stock.

As of now, UBTECH's stock price has plummeted nearly 70% from its peak, with the total market capitalization falling to 54.5 billion HKD.

According to UBTECH's 2025 financial report, the company's total annual revenue was 2.001 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53.3%, but the annual net loss still reached 790 million yuan. Over just four years from 2022 to 2025, UBTECH accumulated losses exceeding 4.2 billion yuan.

Data from Tianyancha shows that UBTECH's early business focused on educational and display robots, with the 'embodied intelligent humanoid robot' business segment established in 2025 to follow market trends.

From a business structure perspective, the full-size embodied intelligent humanoid robot business was almost the sole growth engine in 2025, with sales of 1,079 units, ranking first globally, and industrial applications accounting for over 80%. The traditional educational intelligent robot and logistics intelligent robot businesses showed unfavorable growth and revenue prospects.

However, the traditional humanoid robot business is highly dependent on customization, making scalability difficult and leading to persistently high expense ratios. In 2025, UBTECH's sales, management, and research and development expenses totaled 2.561 billion yuan, far exceeding the annual revenue of 2.001 billion yuan, trapping the company in a 'high investment, low return' cycle.

Under the pressure of commercialization, launching a controversial 'cyborg companion' is UBTECH's attempt to quickly validate and monetize its concept.

The U1 received nearly 4,000 orders within just 10 days of pre-sale, with deposits totaling over 10 million yuan, and monthly pre-sale volumes far exceeding last year's annual sales. The 'realistic appearance + adults only' setting naturally generated significant buzz, easily achieving widespread online attention.

More importantly, the profit potential is substantial. The estimated product price is over 200,000 yuan, significantly higher than educational and industrial robots. Additionally, continuous monetization can be achieved through appearance customization, IP collaborations, and AI function subscriptions, offering a much higher profit margin than the hardware-intensive industrial sector.

In terms of product design, the UI may not be sophisticated, but it uses emotional value to mask technological shortcomings.

Of course, the risks are also evident: ethical controversies, regulatory disputes, the potential backlash of being labeled a 'silicone doll' which could undermine the brand's technological image, and the risk of a reputation crisis if the actual product experience falls short of expectations.

Falling but Aware: UBTECH's New Narrative Continues

UBTECH's new narrative must continue, whether it makes sense or not. After all, 'one must survive to pursue ideals.'

From Benyuan Finance