Season 7, Post 31: Going for robotic gold
Visitors to Beijing last week would have been greeted by a curious sight: robots dressed in sporting gear running, boxing, kicking balls, wielding table tennis bats and more. The Chinese capital hosted the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games. 280 teams from as far afield as the US, Germany and Brazil (primarily representing different universities) took part. The prize in question – not just bragging rights but the projection of AI and tech leadership.
The opening ceremony was something to behold. Around 12,000 spectators filled Beijing’s National Speed Skating Oval, built originally for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Robots (naturally) danced to hip hop, played guitar solos, banged ceremonial drums and performed martial arts. Over the three-day competition, 50 events took place. Beyond track and field, robots also duelled in specific challenges such as sorting medicines, handling materials and cleaning. China bagged the most medals, with the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre claiming top spot on the podium.
The event can be considered far more than a publicity stunt. Indeed, robots had already appeared in Beijing’s half-marathon earlier this year, as reported in Blog post #16. The humanoid Olympics constitute just another proof point in the growing credibility of humanoid robots. The real prize will be for humanoids to fill the employment gap generated by an ageing population that is retiring. In the future, humanoids will both work in factories and care for the elderly.
It is, of course, open to debate whether we will trust humanoids. Beijing’s sporting contests saw several calamities. A four-way crash and subsequent tangled pile-up occurred during a football match. Meanwhile, in the 1500m running event, one robot collapsed while running at high speed. The good news is today’s humanoids are the most expensive and least capable that they will ever be. Humanoid capabilities should only grow from here (as we have argued previously). As the industry scales, the marginal cost of bringing additional robots into meaningful production should move close to zero. Expect more robots to be going for gold next year.
19 August 2025
The above does not constitute investment advice and is the sole opinion of the author at the time of publication. Past performance is no guide to future performance and the value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise.
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Alex Gunz, Fund Manager
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