This report is from CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter this week, delivering insights and analysis on the powerhouse of the world’s second-largest economy. You can subscribe here.
big story
A Chinese humanoid robot is about to arrive in the United States before Elon Musk is ready to sell his Optimus machine.
During my visits to Shenzhen, China’s “Silicon Valley,” over the past two years, I watched humanoid startup LimX Dynamics move from bare-bones facilities to modern office towers with expansive views and bolder ambitions.
The company is currently considering a business partnership in the United States, founder Will Chan said in an exclusive interview last week. Just a few days ago, the startup unveiled a humanoid robot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
This is all part of LimX’s efforts to expand globally through local partners, including investors.
First on the roadmap is the Middle East. Zhang said the startup has already secured its first foreign backer from the region, and LimX plans to start shipping humanoid robots in the region this year.
He could not disclose details about LimX’s new investors or amounts, as the funding round is still ongoing. The new round increases the company’s valuation many times over its previous Series A round, the company said.
According to PitchBook, LimX has raised $69.31 million as of July 2025, and backers include Alibaba, JD.com, Lenovo, and more. Zhang declined to comment on the IPO plans.
“More than money, I focus on local partnerships,” Zhang said, adding that he plans to talk to more foreign investors in the coming months. Beyond the Middle East, he sees potential in what he calls a large but fragmented market in Europe.
Shenzhen-based Limx Dynamics has released Oli, a life-sized humanoid robot, in the summer of 2025.
Rimkus dynamics
Competition with Elon Musk
LimX is not alone. Several other Chinese humanoid robot companies, including Unitree, also showed off their humanoid robots at CES. They join a growing number of China-based consumer electronics companies exploring the U.S. market.
All of this is a sign of growing pressure on Elon Musk’s humanoid robot program, not only from U.S. rival Figure AI, but also from Chinese companies that are increasing deliveries of humanoid robots around the world.
According to research firm Omdia, about 13,000 humanoids were shipped around the world last year. Chinese companies led by Agibot dominated the top five shipments. Figure was 7th and Tesla 9th. Tesla has shipped Optimus humanoid robot units to business customers, but not yet to the general public, Omdia said.
Morgan Stanley last week doubled its forecast for sales of humanoid robots in China this year to 28,000 units from 14,000 units, following positive numbers from the Omdia report. The forecast includes only external sales.
“We expect corporate sales to be the main driver this year, replacing last year’s government, R&D and entertainment-related sales,” equity analyst Shen Zhong said in a note. The company predicts that China’s humanoid robot market could reach annual sales of 54 million units by 2050.
Regarding Optimus, Musk said at Davos last week that the robot would not go on sale to the public until the end of 2027.
Ambition to become number one in the world
LimX started offering its humanoid robot, Oli, a few months ago, Zhang said. The base model costs just 158,000 yuan ($22,660) and uses only applications made by LimX. A version that allows developers to integrate their own functions into the robot costs almost twice as much at 290,000 yuan.
But Zhang wants to become a global leader in the underlying technology, not just a Chinese company commercializing existing ideas.
Regarding technological innovation, he said, “I don’t think it’s necessary for the United States to lead and for China to follow.”
Prior to founding LimX in 2022, Mr. Zhang was a tenured professor of electrical and computer engineering at The Ohio State University.
His goal this year is to improve voice commands and eliminate the need for remote controls, which still power many robot demonstrations today, such as performing somersaults on command. Zhang aims to achieve this using agentic artificial intelligence, an advanced form of AI that can autonomously make a series of decisions to complete a task.
Earlier this month, LimX announced an agent AI “operating system” called COSA, designed to allow robots to adjust their body movements in real time, such as when handling a tennis ball.
2026 is just the beginning of LimX’s three-year plan to deliver thousands of humanoid robots to the Middle East, primarily for research and development, and to build case studies on how robots can serve humans. Plans for the United States have not yet been finalized.
However, with rapid advances in the industry, humanoid robots could be working alongside humans within five to 10 years, Zhang said. If all goes according to plan, these robots will be deployed not only in China but all over the world.
Popular TV Shows on CNBC
Benjamin Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council, discussed how investors and companies are reassessing the risks of overconcentration in US assets while rebalancing portfolios towards Asia, Greater China, gold and alternative assets.
Hong Kong’s Treasurer Paul Chan said the Hong Kong market is becoming increasingly important on the world stage, attracting businesses not only from mainland China but also from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Kevin Sneader, former president of Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific (Japan), spoke about how investor appetite for AI is driving influx into Asian markets, and also noted important nuances for prominent countries such as China and South Korea.
need to know
This week’s quote
What did President Trump accomplish? He showed the world that China is a viable trade partner and somewhat more stable than the United States…Trump will likely favor China in the long run with both hard and soft power.
— Ed Price, Non-Resident Senior Visiting Scholar, New York University
at the market
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rose in afternoon trading Wednesday.
Mainland China’s CSI300 index rose 0.49%, while Hong Kong’s CSI300 index rose 0.49%. Hang Seng Indexled gains in Asia’s main benchmarks, rising 2.36%, including big Chinese companies.
The CSI 300 has increased by 1.7% since the beginning of the year, and the Hang Seng Index has increased by more than 8%.
China’s benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose to 1.824%, and the offshore yuan last traded at 6.938 yuan to the dollar.
Shanghai Composite performance over the past year.
very soon
January 28-31: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits China with representatives from Airbus, AstraZeneca, Baker McKenzie and other British companies.
January 31: China Official Manufacturing and Services PMI for January
February 1st-7th: Uruguay President Yamandou Orsi makes state visit to China
February 2: RatingDog Manufacturing PMI for January
February 4th: RatingDog Service January PMI
