China accelerates commercial rollout of embodied AI
China is expanding robot-training infrastructure, developing industry standards and increasing real-world trials to move embodied artificial intelligence from laboratories into commercial use.
Embodied AI refers to artificial intelligence integrated into physical systems such as robots, enabling them to perceive and interact with the real world.
More than 70 embodied AI training centers are already operating across China, while over 40 others are under construction or being planned. Major clusters are emerging in the Yangtze River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Pearl River Delta.
In Beijing, Lightwheel AI combines videos of people performing tasks with synthetic data generated through simulations. The company says it has already delivered more than 1.5 million hours of human video data for model training.
In Shenzhen, such data is being used to train wheeled humanoid robots that can operate electrical control cabinets and industrial valves. After training on tens of thousands of samples, the robots can complete some tasks with an 80 to 90 percent success rate.
The value of China's core AI industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025, with more than 6,200 companies operating in the sector.
According to CCTV+, China's embodied AI program is expanding the technology's use in industry, services, workplace safety and emergency response, with a goal of identifying more than 100 high-value applications by the end of 2026.
