China's Agibot Plans To Compete With Elon Musk's Optimus, Set to Produce 5,000 Robots in 2025

Shanghai-based robotics startup Agibot has announced plans to produce up to 5,000 robots this year, setting itself up as a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s Optimus plans.

What Happened: Agibot, also known as Zhiyuan Robotics, aims to substantially boost its production from fewer than 1,000 units last year, according to Yao Maoqing, a partner at Agibot and president of its embodied intelligence unit. The company’s ambitious production surge reflects the growing enthusiasm among Chinese robotics startups amid a domestic industry boom, reported the South China Morning Post.

Founded in 2023, Agibot has rapidly emerged as a leading force in Shanghai’s robotics industry. The company is planning to open a new plant in the Pudong district to boost its production capacity to over 400 robots per month, Yao revealed.

“This year, we aim to deploy new products in industrial scenarios, replacing humans in specific tasks to create tangible customer value,” Yao said. He also estimated that it would take approximately five more years for humanoid robots to be widely adopted in households.

Agibot was co-founded by Peng Zhihui, a former participant in Huawei’s prestigious “Genius Youth” program. The company now focuses on three main product lines: Yuanzheng, a bipedal humanoid robot for commercial use; Genie, a wheeled robot with dual arms; and Lingxi, a compact humanoid designed for developers and consumers.

The start-up has successfully undergone a minimum of eight funding rounds, securing investments from leading venture capitalists and industry heavyweights. The startup is currently valued at approximately 10 billion yuan ($1.38 billion), according to Yao.

Why It Matters: Agibot’s ambitious production plans come at a time when Musk’s Tesla Inc. TSLA is also ramping up its Optimus humanoid robot production. In Musk’s recent all-hands meeting, he announced plans to produce several thousand Optimus robots for deployment in Tesla’s own factory.

Furthermore, in January, Musk indicated that Tesla may sell Optimus to rival companies in 2026. He also stated, "I think long-term Optimus has the potential to be north of $10 trillion in revenue.”

Last year, Goldman Sachs estimated that the global humanoid robot market could reach a value of $38 billion by 2035, and it seems China wants to place itself at the forefront of this phenomenon. According to the International Federation of Robotics, China already leads the industrial robotics sector.

This suggests that Agibot’s aggressive production plans could be a strategic move to position itself as a key player in the emerging humanoid robot market, potentially even as a competitor to Tesla.