A robotic dog, equipped with attachments for a fire hose, emerges from an elevator and heads toward a parking lot. The unusual sight draws onlookers who quickly pull out their phones to capture the moment. Here’s one of several quadrupedal robots developed by Unitree Robotics, a Chinese company gaining international attention for its advancements in robotics.
The scene is unfolding in Hangzhou, a city of 13 million on China’s east coast, south of Shanghai. Six technology companies, dubbed “Hangzhou’s six little dragons” by the Chinese press, are experiencing rapid growth with global ambitions. The city is increasingly being discussed as a potential Chinese Silicon Valley, though its development differs from the trajectories seen in California and elsewhere in China.
“We’ve been developing this robotic dog for a few years and now sell it online to those who want one, for a price of $1,500,” says Jolanda Xie, from Unitree’s marketing department, during a tour of the facility.
What is it for?
“For whatever you want, for fun, you can indicate off what it can do when you have guests,” she suggests, pressing a button on her remote to craft the robotic dog perform flips in the air.
Unitree Robotics is the first company in the world to begin selling high-performance quadrupedal robots to the general public.
Another model is a humanoid, a human-like robot, called an agent and AI avatar. It measures 127 centimeters and is more flexible than most people. It can kick high and participated in the first martial arts competition for humanoids last year – a milestone in human history, according to the company.
The company too offers rentals, allowing businesses to use the robots for promotional events or individuals to impress with the technology.
Unitree’s robots have been featured at China’s state television New Year’s Gala, the opening of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl in the United States. The company’s products are gaining increasing visibility and generating excitement in China.
Hangzhou has emerged as a hub for technological innovation. In addition to Unitree, the city is home to competitors like Deep Robotics, game developer Game Science, brain-computer interface innovator Brian Co, and Manycore Tech, a leading spatial design platform.
However, Deepseek has garnered the most attention – a company challenging major AI players in the United States. Its breakthrough in January 2023 demonstrated that China is closer to the U.S. In advanced AI development than previously thought, despite export restrictions imposed by the U.S. And at a fraction of the development cost.
The company maintains a low profile, and does not grant interviews. A guard outside a building in Hangzhou confirmed that the headquarters are located there, but declined to specify which floor.
Experts attribute Deepseek’s success to its approach of offering open-source software for commercial use, which accelerates the spread of new knowledge. This contrasts with the approach of major U.S. Companies like OpenAI and Google, which have sought to maintain tight control over their most advanced technology.
“I use Deepseek every day, it gives me good summaries and saves time. It’s not surprising that we’ve develop into a tech city. Hangzhou already had Alibaba at the end of the 1990s,” said 25-year-old Chen, a doctoral student in energy development, outside Zhejiang University.
