Silicon Valley investors are now touring Chinese robot factories to gauge competition. Ryan Cunningham of Edgerunner Ventures is planning an April trip for ten investors. Many investors aim to size up rivals to their US portfolio companies rather than scout investments. China leads in robotics manufacturing, supply chains, deployment and data collection. Unitree and AgiBot shipped 71% of the world’s humanoid robots last year. China controls 63% of the global supply chain for humanoid-robot components. Most US humanoid robots remain in development and rely on Chinese suppliers. Investors from Eclipse, G2 Venture Partners and Chemistry VC have already visited China. G2’s Neel Mehta saw high-quality EVs and large-scale robotics data collection in Shenzhen. US investors previously assumed Chinese tech was lower quality and US AI superior. China’s 2023 policy targets humanoid robot deployment across the economy by 2027. Interest grew after DeepSeek’s 2025 AI model release surprised Silicon Valley. Doon Insights is offering a 12-day Robotics Study Mission in November.
What changed
US investors previously dismissed Chinese robotics as lower quality and assumed US AI would remain superior.
What it unlocks
US investors can now directly assess China's robotics supply chain and manufacturing capabilities.
- 71% of world humanoid robot shipments by Unitree and AgiBot
- 63% of global humanoid-robot component supply chain controlled by China
- 100% US tariff on Chinese EV imports
- $10,000 per person for investor tours
Sources