Unitree, the manufacturer of humanoid robots that listed on the Shanghai STAR Market a month ago, has registered a subsidiary in Chengdu—Chengdu Yuchen Technology. This is part of its plan to implement the 'three bases, two centers' concept in the field of embodied intelligence within the city.
This move allows Unitree to join the five leaders in the Chinese embodied AI market with a presence in Chengdu. These include UBTECH, AgiBot, and Galbot, which observers suggest completes the picture of the city's ambitions in robotics.
The three established bases include a western base for pilot production, designed for humanoid, quadruped, and wheeled robotic manipulators. There is also a base for film and television robotics, which integrates local digital content resources and cultural and tourist sites. The third base focuses on education and covers all levels of schooling.
The pilot production base aims to transition from prototype to mass production—a problem that has long been a weak link in China's high-tech industries—as a key factor in Chengdu's technological transformation.
Two new centers complement this structure: an applied innovation center that directs robotics into public safety, education, and cultural tourism, and a data collection center that provides feedback to embodied AI algorithms using real-world data. The first specific project has already launched—a joint embodied AI laboratory with a local school district.
Chengdu's appeal was evident to Unitree's competitors as well. One rival managed to move from contract signing to production in six months, and service robots are already accompanying visitors in the famous panda reserve. Founder Wang Xingxing asserts that robots must leave laboratories and mature in real-world conditions, calling the combination of daily life and advanced innovation in Chengdu a natural environment for growth. It was here that Unitree first presented its transformable mech GD01 on Qunxi Street.
According to data, the economic scale of AI in Chengdu exceeded 150 billion yuan in 2025 among over 1200 companies, and the city aims to reach 260 billion yuan by 2027. Wang noted that the sustainability of the scenario-based strategy will depend on how actively robots operate in local factories, hospitals, and shopping streets.