Humanoidroboter: Verbündete finden und reichlich Vorräte anlegen

In other words, the current cooperation is not only a way to "huddle together for warmth", but also a way for enterprises to "vote" for the future industry landscape by binding with upstream and downstream partners and those across different fields.

These days, who would still struggle alone?

In the past month, humanoid robots have seen a trend of expanding their circle of friends. Robot manufacturers have started to find allies in various roles to fight side by side. Whether it's Fourier and BASF jointly exploring the application and development of engineering plastics, polyurethane, and thermoplastic polyurethane in robots and their components; or Ubtech signing a strategic partnership agreement worth $1 billion with the internationally renowned investment institution InfiniCapital, with both sides collaborating on financial support and industrial synergy; or Aoyi Technology intensively reaching strategic cooperation agreements with Lingyi Precision Industry, Sichuan Tianlian Robot, and Guohua Intelligence...

More typically, Shenzhen Huizhi IoT and Zhipingfang have reached a strategic cooperation. Huizhi IoT will deploy more than 1,000 embodied intelligent robots in Huike's global production bases in the next three years, which will be applied in warehousing and logistics, material handling, component assembly, quality inspection and testing, etc. It is reported that the order amount of this cooperation is close to 500 million yuan, setting a record for the world's largest humanoid robot procurement contract.

Image source: Zhipingfang

All these are revealing the same signal: Humanoid robots eager to be put into use "need a support".

The logic behind this is that the humanoid robot industry is driven by strong demand. Only by addressing the pain points on the demand side can it achieve commercialization, complete self - financing, attract the favor of investors, continue its life cycle, and transmit this wave of momentum to the upstream. This will enable the upstream to find standards, reduce costs, and continuously evolve in large - scale shipments, forming an ideal industrial closed - loop.

The topic of "only with demand is there a possibility" is nothing new in the humanoid robot industry. Previously, many people and the Embodied Intelligence Research Society said that some humanoid robot manufacturers have even asked investors to "come with orders" when making investments.

The orders in this regard not only carry short - term business PR stories but also are the seeds for long - term operation. After all, if humanoid robots cannot be sold or used, they will be forever trapped in the ivory tower of the laboratory. When there is no obvious entry point on the demand side, cooperating with investors is a mature and proven reasonable route.

Now, as the industry develops and matures, simply having in - depth cooperation with investors can no longer satisfy the appetite of robot manufacturers. Thus, a story of expanding the circle of friends unfolds.

Searching for a Shorter Path to Market

The humanoid robot industry is like a complex systems engineering track. Its products are similar to the automotive industry in terms of complexity, large - scale demand, synergy, and industrial driving force. Not long ago, He Xiaopeng at the Munich Auto Show frankly said that "compared with cars and airplanes, the R & D of robots is more difficult".

Due to the high difficulty, although the humanoid robot industry has similar industries, it cannot simply copy their models and has to find its own solutions. It can be seen that the humanoid robot industry is still in its early stage of development, and there is a large gap between its supply chain maturity and market scale and those of the automotive industry.

So, as he said, "a R & D investment of 50 billion is just the entry ticket". Then, going it alone requires great courage. However, what enterprises need is not just capital but a shorter path, using capital to buy time and space in the track.

Most of the current cooperation in the market also follows the above - mentioned underlying logic.

Humanoid robots integrate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, high - end manufacturing, and new materials, and are the epitome of advanced manufacturing. The development of humanoid robots requires the collaborative innovation of technologies in multiple fields such as machinery, electronics, sensors, software, communication, and artificial intelligence. This makes it difficult for a single enterprise to maintain a leading position in all technological fields, thus driving the demand for cross - border cooperation.

Image source: Internet

Therefore, the cooperation among mid - stream manufacturers is to carry out technical cooperation, combine the strengths of each party, and jointly tackle key problems and improve products. In the previous article "Humanoid Robot Manufacturers Learn to Be Economical" by the Embodied Intelligence Research Society, this topic was discussed. Technology companies often tend to work in isolation for the so - called technological barriers. However, in the "technology - product - market" chain, technology must be converted into usable products as early as possible to further achieve commercialization and marketization. In the humanoid robot industry, which is a blue ocean, whoever launches products first and continuously iterates them will have a first - mover advantage.

Going it alone is not a viable option. Whether it's the product completion level or the technology verification cycle, there is no time to wait. Cooperation can accelerate enterprises' breakthroughs in the constraints of technological R & D capabilities and help products quickly enter the market.

At the market level, it involves another form of industrial cooperation. For humanoid robots, they are in urgent need of application scenarios. For example, in the cooperation case between Tiangu and Hasen Co., Ltd., Hasen provides three physical scenarios: manufacturing production lines, warehousing hubs, and retail terminals. Tiangu turns these scenarios into test fields for technological commercialization verification.

Actually, you will find that in the early stage of traditional emerging industries, most investors are VCs. However, the humanoid robot track is different. Here, there are more industrial investors who directly offer scenarios and even orders to humanoid robot enterprises. This process of being "fed" is a necessary "dependency period" that the humanoid robot track has to go through.

When it comes to cooperation with the upstream, in the financing cases of humanoid robots, there are many joint efforts with upstream component manufacturers. For example, Wolong Electric Drive and ZHIYUAN Robot have made two - way investments...

Humanoid robot manufacturers can form a stable and controllable supply chain through this, ensuring certain advantages in large - scale and low - cost shipments. At the same time, through this in - depth cooperation, the upstream can clearly understand the component standards required by the mid - stream, which also promotes the formation of standards and specifications in the entire upstream supply chain.

The Essence of Cooperation is "Symbiosis"

Humanoid robot enterprises are like ivy. On the steep wall of the embodied intelligence track, only with more contact points can they avoid falling easily.

Essentially, it should be understood that in this track, enterprises are facing huge pressure - this is a track with heavy investment, high risk, and a significant 80/20 effect.

Some investors have a very clear understanding. Cao Wei, a partner of BlueRun Ventures, said that the number of humanoid robot players will definitely shrink in 3 to 5 years. Yu Yinan, the founder of Vita Power, also mercilessly judged in an interview that only 3 leading players will remain in the future embodied intelligence track. To avoid being left behind at a certain future point, humanoid robot enterprises can only expand their business cooperation, grow together, and share risks.

So the advantages of being like ivy are very clear.

Focusing on the enterprises themselves, through extensive cooperation, enterprises can quickly make up for their own deficiencies. For example, if they lack application scenarios, they can connect with downstream physical enterprises; if they are short of technology, they can cooperate with mid - stream peers to tackle key problems; if their supply chain is unstable, they can bind with upstream component manufacturers. They can also lock in high - quality resources in advance. Whether it's scarce application scenarios, core technological patents, or stable component production capacity, they can form an "exclusive moat" through cooperation, avoiding being in a passive position in resource competition in future competition.

After all, in the early stage of the track, "occupying a position first" is more important than "making a single - point breakthrough". One more cooperation contact point means one more chance of survival in the industry reshuffle.

However, being like ivy has two drawbacks. One is that there is only breadth without depth, that is, there is no in - depth field and no technological advantages in hand. The other is that if the scope is too large, it will involve problems such as resource dispersion and technology integration. The former is easy to understand, that is, enterprises need to balance cooperation and self - reliance. The latter involves the pace of start - up enterprises.

In the short term, enterprises are in the early stage of development, and their capital, human resources, and supply chain resources are relatively scarce. Whether it's cross - border cooperation, general cooperation, or order promotion, humanoid robot enterprises cannot exceed the existing scale threshold. Otherwise, there will be disruptions in product delivery, fund management, and human energy.

This is not alarmist. Referring to the new energy vehicle industry, which is the closest track, humanoid robots and new energy vehicles both belong to the track of "heavy assets, long - cycle, and strong supply chain dependence". Just like Nezha Automobile, which experienced great ups and downs, due to blind expansion of production lines and rushing to go public, it eventually suffered a broken capital chain. This case is a particularly obvious warning: If early - stage enterprises pursue "super - scale development" without considering their own resource endowments, whether it's order acceptance, production capacity expansion, or cross - border cooperation, it may trigger a chain of crises due to "resources not keeping up with ambitions".

It should be emphasized that the word "symbiosis" can also be regarded as "binding".

In other words, the current cooperation is not only a way to "huddle together for warmth", but also a way for enterprises to "vote" for the future industry landscape by binding with upstream and downstream partners and those across different fields. The higher - quality the resources bound and the more comprehensive the covered links, the more likely an enterprise will become a "survivor" selected by the industry and the market in the final competition among leading players. When the track moves from the "wild growth" stage to the "intensive cultivation" stage, those enterprises that have built a cooperation network and reserved resources early can respond to market changes more quickly and stand firm during the industry contraction period.

On the other hand, there is also a possibility of "Balkanization", fragmentation, or consolidation. At a time when neither the technology nor the business path in the entire industry has converged, it will accumulate greater risks. For example, if a certain software or hardware technology route encounters obstacles or a certain enterprise has a problem, the entire ecosystem will be damaged.

Generally speaking, the humanoid robot industry is essentially a grand experiment around "symbiosis" and "evolution".

From an industrial perspective, it is not a single - technology or single - enterprise battle but a complex systems engineering that requires the collaborative innovation of the entire industry chain. Its development follows the logic of "demand - driven, technology - enabled, and ecological win - win". Just like ivy, humanoid robots are climbing up on this steep track.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Embodied Intelligence Research Society". Author: Peng Kunfang. Republished by 36Kr with permission.