By Brent Li
On April 11, Chinese manufacturer Unitree Robotics announced that its H1 humanoid robot reached a running speed of 10 meters per second during testing — breaking the world record for humanoid robots. While robot speed records lack the formal regulations of human track events, 10 meters per second is significantly faster than the average person and inches closer to Usain Bolt’s peak speed of 12.4 meters per second.
We may have to wait for a proper robot Olympics to see which machine is truly the fastest, but the achievement underscores a broader trend: Chinese robotics startups are aggressively pursuing different strategies to dominate an emerging global market.
The need for speed
Many critics question the practical value of making bipedal robots run quickly, arguing that traditional wheeled machines will always outpace them. However, for a lesser-known startup called MirrorMe Technology, speed is the ultimate crucible for hardware development. Founded in 2024, the company takes an unconventional path by focusing heavily on physical capabilities rather than just artificial intelligence.
According to Jin Yongbin, founder of MirrorMe, the biggest bottleneck in the industry right now is not the algorithm, but the hardware’s responsiveness. The company recently unveiled Bolt, an anthropomorphic full-sized robot that also claims to peak at 10 meters per second on a treadmill. MirrorMe likens its approach to Formula 1 racing: pushing hardware to extreme limits exposes mechanical weaknesses, and the resulting breakthroughs will eventually trickle down to practical household robots. The company says its robot dog, Panther II, even temporarily beat Olympic champion Noah Lyles in a 50-meter sprint and broke a quadruped speed record that Boston Dynamics had held for 12 years.
MirrorMe also diverges from industry trends by utilizing teleoperation — a system where robots are remotely controlled by humans — rather than fully relying on vision-language-action (VLA) models. VLA is an advanced AI architecture that allows a robot to simultaneously process visual imagery and natural language to directly output physical actions. Jin explains that while VLA models represent the future, training them requires massive amounts of real-world data that autonomous robots do not yet have. Teleoperation serves as a transitional step to harvest that necessary data.
Sexy shapes and investor capital
Beyond speed, there is ongoing debate over the humanoid form itself. Skeptics argue that forcing robots to look like humans limits their ability to perform practical tasks like carrying, patrolling, or manufacturing. Yet, two major factors keep the humanoid dream alive. First, humans naturally desire companionship from machines that look like them, which fosters social acceptance. Second, humanoid robots effortlessly capture the imagination of the public and investors. Compared with the reliable but unglamorous mechanical arms that have toiled in factories for decades, bipedal robots are highly marketable.
This hype has been translated directly into financial momentum. Unitree has become one of the most high-profile robotics firms globally, famous for its viral videos of robotic dogs and humanoids. The company’s initial public offering application has been accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, drawing interest from investors eager for a slice of a rapidly growing market. This contrasts with UBTech, which listed in Hong Kong in December 2023 but has recently taken a much lower profile. Following Unitree’s lead, Deep Robotics, a company known for its solid industrial quadruped robots, also officially started its A-share IPO counseling in late 2025, according to IPO Early News.
Real-world utility and geopolitical hurdles
Despite the dazzling videos and influx of capital, the ultimate test for these machines is real-world utility. Unitree’s aggressive push is beginning to yield practical applications overseas. According to Nikkei Chinese, a Japanese AI startup named ZEALS has deployed Unitree’s G1 robots — priced around 5 million yen ($30,000) — as hospital assistants. In places like the University of Tsukuba Hospital, these robots use natural Japanese to guide patients and assist with night care, providing a potential lifeline for Japan’s rapidly aging population.
However, it remains difficult to evaluate how much actual value these humanoid machines bring to patients, or whether seeing a robot in a hospital lobby is currently more of a gimmick than a practical replacement for human labor.
Furthermore, Chinese robot makers face significant geopolitical headwinds. Nikkei Chinese also reported that in March, conservative U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill to ban the procurement and use of Chinese-made robots, citing risks regarding data leaks and national security. As the robotics race accelerates, these companies must prove that their creations can safely and effectively navigate both physical obstacles and complex global markets.
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