UBTECH and China Telecom Sign Agreement to Scale Robot Sales via Telecom Channels

Operators enter the market to sell robots, UBTECH signs a contract for 100,000 units with China Telecom

2026-11-09 18:21:22 21st Century Business Herald 21 Finance APP Shi Enze

21st Century Business Herald Reporter Shi Enze

After scaling up in industrial scenarios, UBTECH began to use operator channels to sell robots to home and commercial markets.

On November 9, China Telecom's wholly-owned subsidiary, Tianyi Telecom Terminal, and the Hong Kong-listed “first humanoid robot stock” UBTECH (09880.HK) signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, in the next three years, both parties will jointly push the scale of home companion robot terminals to break through 1,000,000 units, and push the scale of hyper-realistic humanoid robot terminals, wheeled humanoid robot terminals, and other terminals to break through 100,000 units.

The direct significance of this cooperation for UBTECH lies in the expansion of sales channels. UBTECH's previous humanoid robot revenue came almost entirely from industrial manufacturing and government/enterprise customers, while China Telecom terminals undertake the functions of China Telecom terminal operation and ecosystem cooperation, possessing a nationwide network of business hall channels and massive home customer resources. Both parties plan to carry out pilot projects such as rental services, “AI rights + terminals,” and innovative experience scenarios in business halls; UBTECH's revenue structure is expected to extend from B-end centralized procurement toward the C-end consumer market.

Order and delivery data are the main support for UBTECH's revenue. In 2025, the total order amount for UBTECH Walker series humanoid robots was nearly 1,400,000,000 yuan, with 1,079 full-size humanoid robots delivered throughout the year, achieving a total revenue of 2,001,000,000 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53.3%. Among these, revenue from full-size embodied intelligence humanoid robots was 820,000,000 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2203.7%, accounting for 41.1% of total revenue; based on this, the estimated average price per unit is approximately 760,000 yuan. 

In the first half of 2026, UBTECH's revenue was 1,269,000,000 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 104.2%, with revenue from full-size humanoid robots reaching 590,000,000 yuan, and its proportion of total revenue further rose to 46.5%.

The volume expansion of humanoid robots is also improving UBTECH's profit quality. UBTECH's overall gross profit margin increased from 28.7% in 2024 to 37.7% in 2025, and further rose to 44.7% in the first half of 2026; net loss attributable to the parent company narrowed from 1,137,000,000 yuan in 2024 to 703,000,000 yuan in 2025. UBTECH management previously stated that the expectation to achieve break-even in a single quarter in the fourth quarter of 2027 remains unchanged, and they are striving to achieve it earlier.

Scalable delivery capability is the prerequisite for the realization of the above sales targets. UBTECH on the order of 10000 units smart factory has entered production in the second half of this year, and the company plans for the annual production capacity of industrial humanoid robots to reach a scale of 10,000 units in 2026. On the day of signing, both parties also unveiled the “Tianyi Telecom Terminal - UBTECH Robot Joint Innovation Laboratory,” focusing on scenario mining, product customization, application verification, and standard setting.

It is worth noting that the fulfillment cycle of the consumer market still has uncertainties. IDC data shows that in 2025, the global shipment of humanoid robots will be approximately 18,000 units, with a market size of approximately 440,000,000 USD, mainly applied in fields such as cultural and entertainment performances, scientific research and education, and data collection.

UBTECH Vice President Jiao Jichao previously stated publicly that humanoid robots will first land in industrial scenarios, and it will take at least 8 to 10 years to enter homes. Whether the sales target of 100,000 units can be fulfilled as scheduled depends on the extent of the price drop of the complete machine and the actual maturity speed of home scenario demands.