[Reporter’s Notebook] Unitree’s Solo Run Reminiscent of DJI: Where Can Korean Robots Stand?

The most impressive session during my business trip to the largest tech forum in Central Asia, held in Kazakhstan last October, was a robot boxing competition. Two robots, each wearing boxing gloves, extended their arms to attack one another and increased their striking power by moving their knee joints and legs freely. Even after the match, when they slumped on the corner of the ring to rest, spectators cheered enthusiastically. This event was a hackathon in which a local team of young engineers programmed software onto a Chinese-made Unitree robot body and competed against each other.

Ten months have passed since then, and now Unitree is on the verge of becoming the first humanoid robot manufacturer to go public on China's mainland stock exchange with a corporate valuation of 13 trillion won. In the meantime, the company also clinched the title of having the highest global shipment of humanoid robots last year.

Of course, Unitree has its weaknesses. Although its walking and balance control are exceptional, it is less advanced in the large artificial intelligence (AI) model technology that functions as the robot's "brain." Over 60% of the robots that Unitree sold worldwide last year ended up not in factories or households, but in the research labs of universities and big tech companies. This means the robots have not yet reached full commercialization. Nevertheless, the market regards Unitree as a formidable competitor because of its strong platform "lock-in effect." Leading engineers worldwide continue to use Unitree robots as their reference platforms for coding and research. There is a high possibility that industrial sites will also choose the already familiar Unitree ecosystem as their standard.

This resembles the formula for success used by DJI, the Chinese company that now dominates the drone market. DJI did not have perfect software from the start. Instead, it produced ultra cost-effective drone hardware on a massive scale. As a result, cinematographers and app developers worldwide began to tailor their programs to DJI standards, and the ecosystem in the skies became unified around DJI. The company became number one globally, unshaken even by U.S. government security sanctions.

What is even more concerning is that Unitree is quickly overcoming its weaknesses. Unitree plans to invest about half of the capital raised from its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) specifically in developing its "brain." The Chinese AI company Deepseek has also joined as a strategic shareholder. It is only a matter of time before a highly cost-effective AI brain is integrated into the high-performance Unitree hardware.

Korea's robot industry now needs to reconsider its survival strategy. While there is the renowned company Boston Dynamics, acquired by Hyundai Motor, the majority of Korean robot startups are suffering from a small domestic market and a lack of capital. Due to regulatory barriers, even a single street-driving test can take several months, and mass production has not even begun. This is why Korean companies should avoid price competition in general-purpose markets and instead quickly secure specialized (vertical) areas with maximized security and reliability for high added value. Bold government-level financial support and the rapid construction of manufacturing infrastructure are urgently needed to protect our robot ecosystem.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.