2025 is set to be the “explosive” year for embodied intelligence.
Just after Alibaba formed a small team, it was announced that they secured the largest order in the industry worth 260 million yuan. It feels like robots from movies are about to step into reality overnight.
Is this just a passing trend? Today, let’s dig deeper.
1. A Trillion Yuan Market, Giants Entering the Race
If we talk about the hottest term in the AI circle in 2025, “embodied intelligence” is definitely one of them.
From Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen team forming a small squad, to Zhiyuan Robotics securing a multi-million yuan order from Longqi Technology, and Yuanli Wuxian signing a 260 million yuan deal, the involvement of giants, influx of capital, and realization of orders make this increasingly credible.
Institutions predict that by 2027, the market size for embodied intelligence could reach 1.25 trillion yuan. Especially in humanoid robots, the investment and financing heat is intense. In the first eight months of 2025 alone, there were 138 related financing events, with billion-level deals no longer being news.
Goldman Sachs boldly predicts that by 2030, the global market size could reach 1.54 trillion USD. It seems that the “year of landing for embodied intelligence” is truly not just a name.
2. What Are the Leading Companies Competing For?
Alibaba: From Virtual to Reality
On October 9, Lin Junyang, the head of Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen, announced the formation of a dedicated team for embodied intelligence. He stated that large models should not remain in the virtual world; it is time to move into reality.
In fact, Alibaba’s layout has already begun, having invested in several related companies, such as Zhujidi Power and Yushu Technology. In September of this year, Alibaba Cloud also led a 140 million USD financing round for Zivariable Robotics.
It is clear that Alibaba aims to build an entire ecosystem from investment to self-research, laying the groundwork for future competition.
Zhiyuan Robotics: The “Eye-Catching Package” in Industry
Zhiyuan Robotics is undoubtedly a star enterprise in 2025.
On October 9, they announced a partnership with Longqi Technology, securing a multi-million yuan order for G2 robot frameworks, with plans to deploy nearly a thousand units.
Previously, they also collaborated with Yushu Technology to win a 124 million yuan procurement project from China Mobile. It is said that their G2 robots are already on the assembly line for consumer electronics.
Founder Zhang Yuanjie stated, “Embodied intelligence is a hard standard for judging a company’s AI landing capability.” This shows their confidence in their technology, and they have already initiated an IPO plan.
Yushu Technology: From Tech Nerds to Business Savvy
Yushu Technology is an old player in the humanoid robot field.
By 2025, they have sold over 1,000 humanoid robots, with a unit price of around 70,000 yuan. In June of this year, they also participated in the aforementioned 124 million yuan deal with China Mobile.
Founder Wang Xingxing revealed that the order volume for industrial robots is expected to grow by 220% in 2025, with contract amounts exceeding 1.2 billion yuan. The company is also preparing for an IPO, with a valuation exceeding 12 billion yuan.
3. Where Are We in Technology and Business?
Technology: Just Out of the “Cradle”, But Running Fast
To be honest, insiders believe that embodied intelligence is still in its “infancy”, but 2025 is definitely a key year for it to transition from the laboratory to the factory.
For instance, China Mobile established an embodied intelligence industry center in February this year, aiming to become “the world’s largest robot operator”. Established giants like Huawei and China Telecom are also not idle.
IDC predicts that by 2029, the global robot market size will exceed 400 billion USD, with China accounting for nearly half. Who wouldn’t be tempted by this pie?
Commercialization: From “Pie in the Sky” to “Real Deal”
Predictions suggest that by 2025, the sales of humanoid robots in China are expected to exceed 10,000 units, a growth of 125%.
Application scenarios are also becoming increasingly diverse, with their presence in retail, agriculture, and catering, some of which have already begun commercial operations. For example, in Shanghai, nearly a thousand robots are already on the assembly line for consumer electronics.
Recently, Yuanli Wuxian also signed a 260 million yuan cooperation agreement with Huaqiang Cultural Tourism, preparing to develop embodied intelligence scenarios in cultural tourism. Sounds a bit sci-fi, doesn’t it?
4. Great Opportunities, But Challenges Are Not Small
Although the prospects are bright, there are still many difficulties at present.
The first challenge is data. To make robots truly intelligent, a massive amount of real-world data is needed for training, and this gap is significant.
The second challenge is cost. A humanoid robot can easily cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan, which is still too expensive.
The third challenge is standards. The lack of unified industry standards also limits large-scale development.
However, behind challenges lie opportunities. Both national and local governments are issuing supportive policies, and capital is pouring in. The International Federation of Robotics predicts that from 2021 to 2030, the global humanoid robot market’s compound annual growth rate could reach as high as 71%.
Moreover, the open-source ecosystem for large embodied models is becoming increasingly prosperous, likely replicating the explosive path of ChatGPT, ushering in its own “GPT moment”.
Conclusion: The Next Stop for Large Models is to Grow Hands and Feet
Therefore, the next stop for large models is to enable AI to grow “hands and feet”.
From the virtual world to the real world, embodied intelligence represents a crucial step for AI from “understanding” the world to “participating” in it. 2025 is just the beginning; the real excitement is yet to come.
However, when robots can work like humans, how much will our jobs be affected? This is a question worth pondering for everyone.
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