A Caijing Magazine investigation, translated by ChinaTalk, details how Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing personally controls minute product decisions—from material colors to screw lengths—to drive down costs. This hands-on, cost-obsessed approach has helped Unitree sell some of the cheapest humanoid and quadruped robots on the market, including a $13,500 G1 model and a $4,900 R1 model, though employees say it has come at the expense of quality control.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took a live call from President Trump during his appearance at the All-In Podcast's summit, broadcasting it to the audience over speakerphone. Trump used the moment to dismiss AI safety concerns as a 'hoax,' insisting robots would not take over, and touted data centers as an economic boon for struggling communities. Huang did not challenge Trump's remarks, instead praising the administration's approach to AI competitiveness.
Homebuilders facing a shortage of roughly 1.2 million homes and hundreds of thousands of unfilled construction jobs are turning to robotics, but the real progress is coming from targeted tools like error-checking systems, trade-coordination software, and factory-built modules rather than humanoid robots on job sites. NAHB data shows residential construction productivity has grown just 16% since 1993, far behind the broader economy's 50%-plus gains, while labor shortages cost builders about $11 billion annually and add two months to build times.
Mecka AI, a startup that pays people to record themselves performing everyday tasks to generate motion data for training humanoid robots, is close to finalizing a new funding round led by Sequoia Capital valuing the company at roughly $500 million. The deal comes just three months after Mecka raised $60 million in a round led by Framework Ventures, though the exact size of the new round remains unknown and terms could still change.
A solo developer running Google Ads for his puzzle app Dayzle discovered that of 56 billed installs over two weeks, only 13 were real users; the rest came from devices sideloading outdated app versions while falsely reporting Google Play as the installer. These fake installs showed zero engagement, spanned dozens of phone models across many states, and appeared to be generated by a bot farm gaming Google's install-based ad optimization.
Advocacy group Democratism organized a demonstration outside Poland's digital affairs ministry using about 30 humanoid and quadrupedal robots that marched, held signs, and played pre-recorded chants calling for stricter rules on AI and automation. Organizer Grzegorz Kuliś said the goal was to spotlight how robotics and AI increasingly threaten human jobs, including cognitive work, and to push lawmakers to act before displacement worsens.
Roughly 30 humanoid robots marched and held signs outside Poland's Digital Affairs Ministry in a demonstration organized by the group Democratism. Organizers said the display was meant to illustrate how far robotics and AI have already progressed and to push for faster regulation addressing job losses in cognitive work.
A dozen Coco delivery robots bunched together on a narrow Lincoln Park sidewalk in Chicago, blocking pedestrians for several minutes, according to a video shared by resident Becca Ostein. Coco confirmed the malfunction, saying its team resolved the issue quickly and the robots resumed normal operation shortly after.
At the IFA trade show in Berlin, multiple humanoid robots, including the EngineAI T800 and the PrimeBOT Q1, were shown performing punches, kicks and mock boxing matches, some unrestrained and untethered on the show floor. A reporter had a close encounter with one robot's simulated strikes and witnessed another accidentally march into a bystander's knee.
Days after the World Humanoid Robot Games concluded in China, the PLA's official newspaper urged researchers to speed the shift of humanoid robot technology from labs into military training. A Reuters review of over 100 Chinese procurement notices, patents, academic papers and defense-company documents found the country is actively researching combat applications for these machines and planning for eventual battlefield use alongside robot dogs and unmanned vehicles.
CCTV footage from a store in Saratov, Russia shows a Unitree G1 humanoid robot reacting to a light shove from a customer by launching into a kickboxing-style routine, complete with fighting music, before store clerks intervene. One of its kicks appears to connect with a clerk, and the robot eventually halts and raises its arms into a T-pose before being sent for a reboot.
Meta is testing robot arms from suppliers including ABB, Kinova, and Watney Robotics to handle physical data center tasks like swapping network cables and power-cycling server racks. The effort is still in early trial stages, but an anonymous Meta employee said a Kinova robotic arm could eventually take over up to 80 percent of workers' current duties. Meta declined to comment when asked about the testing.
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