Even one of robotics’ biggest names says that a major breakthrough for the industry may take up to a decade.
During a keynote speech at the 2026 World Robot Conference in Beijing on Thursday, Unitree Robotics CEO Wang Xingxing said that the industry’s breakthrough will come only when a robot can perform most tasks without being specifically trained for them.
“If one day a robot is brought into a completely unfamiliar environment, such as a home it has never seen before, and it can complete about 80% of the tasks just through voice or language commands, then I think we will have roughly reached the ‘ChatGPT moment’ for embodied intelligence,” Wang said.
He estimated that the milestone could arrive in as little as two or three years, though it could take five to 10 years if things moved slowly.
Wang said the biggest hurdle for household robots is getting AI to reliably interact with the physical world. He added that Unitree has already tested robots in automotive factories and its own facilities, but their efficiency and ability to generalize across tasks remains a major bottleneck.
China-based Unitree, which was founded in 2016, first became known for its four-legged robot dogs before expanding into humanoid robots. Its humanoids have helped turn the company into one of the most recognizable names in the global robotics boom and drawn attention to China’s competitive advantage in the physical AI race.
Earlier this week, Unitree raised about $900 million in its oversubscribed Shanghai public debut, and its shares surged 460% on their first day of trading, valuing it at roughly $50 billion.
$300 to $400 a month
Wang’s optimism toward robotics has been more tempered than that of some tech heavyweights.
Speaking at YC Startup School last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said, “I would say the ChatGPT moment of robots happened a couple of years ago already.”
Huang has also estimated that physical AI is a $50 trillion market opportunity, with $40 trillion coming from humanoid robots alone.
While venture capitalist Vinod Khosla’s timeline for household robots largely matches what Wang predicted, the investor has been optimistic about their pricing.
Last year, Khosla said that robotics would have its “ChatGPT moment” within two to three years.
“Almost everybody in the 2030s will have a humanoid robot at home,” he said. “Probably start with something narrow like do your cooking for you. It can chop vegetables, cook food, clean dishes, but stays within the kitchen environment.”
He estimated that these robots would cost $300 to $400 a month, which would be affordable for anyone who already gets house help.
Currently, Unitree’s G1, priced at $13,500, is considered one of the most affordable humanoids on the market.
