Industry
Chinese humanoid makers push factory and cafe trials in South Korea
Chinese humanoid robot companies are moving from demos toward factory trials, cafe pilots and paid work in South Korea, The Gadgeteer reported on 6 November 2026.
The report names UBTech Robotics, Unitree Robotics, AgiBot and Beijing startup Anyverse Dynamics as firms working the Korean market. It says Korea has factories and capital, a shrinking workforce, and no domestic humanoid maker shipping robots at the same scale.
According to that report, UBTech says it has sold more than 10,000 robots in South Korea since 2019 across corporate and government customers. Its U1 humanoid is described as about 1.68 metres tall and priced around $25,000. Galaxy Robot Park in Seoul is said to have taken delivery of one after a Shenzhen debut. UBTech is also described as trial ling humanoids on a Korean automotive parts line with Duksan JM Robotics and Ajin Industrial, after adapting hardware for Korea's KC certification.
Anyverse Dynamics is framed as entering through service work. The Gadgeteer says founder Zhang Yufeng previously worked at SK Telecom and Hyundai Motor, and that the company is testing drink service and table clearing with Hollys, starting with a Beijing cafe trial and Korean cafe trials planned for the fourth quarter.
Trade figures in the same article, attributed to Chinese customs data, rank South Korea as China's third largest export market for intelligent bionic robots in the first nine months of 2026, at $20 million, or 9.7 percent of $207 million shipped worldwide. The customs category covers humanoids and robot dogs.
South Korea's government is also described as proposing 3.1 trillion won, about $2.3 billion, for physical AI in its 2027 budget, up from 900 billion won this year, with the bill before the National Assembly. The industry ministry's Manufacturing AI Transformation programme is said to target 500 AI factories by 2030.
Caveats
Figures for sales, prices, budget totals and customs values are as reported by The Gadgeteer citing company statements and Chinese customs data. This article does not independently verify those numbers. Deployment timelines for factory and cafe trials remain company or outlet reported plans.