China’s Terminator has entered mass production.
The Shenzhen startup EngineAI says it just opened its new intelligent manufacturing base. It covers around 12,000 square meters (130,00 square feet), roughly the size of a Home Depot. According to EngineAI, the first batch of its T800 humanoid robots just walked off its production line.
EngineAI says its factory handles a full production loop that includes incoming inspection, assembly, testing, batch shipment, and aftersales maintenance. The robotics firm claims it can build one humanoid robot every 15 minutes, theoretically equal to four robots an hour if running continuously. The production is speed is twice as fast the rate claimed by Leju Robot, another Shenzhen firm, at the humanoid factory it operates in Foshan with Dongfeng Precision.
According to Chinese reports, EngineAI is also planning a larger global intelligent manufacturing headquarters more inland in Zhengzhou. The potential output is in the same ballpark as Western firms like Agility Robotics, 1X Technologies, and Figure AI, which says it can build up to 12,000 autonomous humanoids per year from its San Jose facility. But they all have catching up to do compared to the Chinese companies Unitree Robotics and Agibot, which are both tracking to ship at least 20,000 humanoids this year.
Launched in 2023 by serial entrepreneur Zhao Tongyang, who previously led XPENG’s humanoid program, the startup is aggressively scaling with substantial financial backing. EngineAI raised around $200 million in a Series B round announced in April 2026, which brought its total amount raised to at least $350 million and pushed its valuation to $1.5 billion. Its major backers include Henan state-backed capital, Apple supplier Luxshare precision, the e-commerce giant JD.com, and a long list of Chinese industrial and government-backed investors.
The new factory resides within Shenzhen’s Honghualing smart manufacturing cluster, where robotics companies and suppliers are stacked into high-rise industrial space. The location puts it within walking distance to key suppliers, including RoboSense, a global leader in LiDAR components. It’s also home to Dobot, the Kickstarter success story that’s mass producing its humanoid named Atom alongside its industrial cobots.
The robot leading EngineAI’s new factory rollout is the T800, its first full-sized commercial humanoid. Standing 173 cm (5 feet 8 inches), the humanoid is marketed as a general-purpose worker for use across industrial, logistics, and public-service sectors. Its name is inspired by the iconic synthetic human from The Terminator series, which EngineAI’s founder cites as one of his biggest inspirations growing up.
The T800 is the same robot that’s gone viral for knocking its creator to the ground with a swift kick to the chest and for patrolling the streets of Shenzhen with police officers. Weighing 175 kg (165 lbs), the T800 features a magnesium aluminum alloy exoskeleton, 29 degrees of freedom (DoF), and three-fingered hands with seven moving joints each.
It’s one of the first humanoids to run on a solid-state battery, alongside XPENG’s Iron and the newer startup KinetixAI’s KAI. The batteries are said to be higher in energy density, faster charging, and safer than traditional lithium-ion packs.
Sixteen of the robots are being trained for EngineAI’s Ultimate Robot Knockout League (URKL) for later in 2026. EngineAI is supplying teams from universities and labs with the heavy-duty humanoids. They’ll optimize the robots for the ring by customizing their artificial intelligence and outfitting them with protective gear. Destructive mods and remote-control operation are strictly prohibited.
The potential payoff is major, with the tournament winner getting a $1.4 million cash prize. EngineAI describes it as the world’s first professional competition for humanoid fighting and the first to feature full-sized humanoids running completely autonomously.
The T800 is priced starting around $25,000 though the variants used for the cagef-fighting spectacle are likely higher-end configurations that start around $50,000.
EngineAI is also known for its compact humanoid named, the PM01, which originally cost around $13,000 to undercut Unitree’s G1. Its entry point is now closer to $25,000 in online listings. Introduced in December 2024, the robot is now starting to pop up in places like San Francisco, where the startup REK recently hosted the first-ever recorded fight between it and Unitree’s short king, both controlled by remote operators. There was no clear winner.
Another Shenzhen-based leader in the humanoid race, UBTECH Robotics, is taking a more gentle approach with its latest offering.
Launched in 2012, the robotics firm started out selling kits for STEM before expanding into industrial automation in recent years. Now publicly listed in Hong Kong, UBTECH ended 2025 boasting it had manufactured 1,000 of its flagship Walker S2 industrial humanoids that can swap out their own batteries. The company reported more than $200 million in orders for the year from giants like Airbus, Foxconn, and Texas Instruments.
UBTECH just shared footage of its new full-sized commercial service humanoid, the Walker C1, which is engineered for public-facing roles, like teaching ballet, rather than factory floors. Technical details are limited. It will make its public debut in late June during the fourth China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.
UBTECH also just announced its first dedicated consumer humanoid brand, called UWORLD. Few details have been publicly released; UBTECH captioned an announcement with: “From now on, you’ll never walk alone.”
UBTECH’s latest humanoid has similar sensibilities to Luna from fellow Shenzhen firm LimX Dynamics. LimX debuted the robot with feminine aesthetics at the Taobao Influencer Festival in Shanghai in March 2026, where it walked the runway alongside the popular Taiwanese actress Michelle Chen.
It’s apparently built on the same architecture as LimX’s flagship humanoid robot, Oli. LimX is expected to release full details about Luna during its formal launch in the coming days.