Shenzhen-based robotics company UBTECH received nearly 4,000 pre-orders and over 10 million yuan (approximately $1.4 million) in deposits for its U1 humanoid companion robot within 10 days of launch, according to Pandaily.
The U1 is a full-size bipedal robot designed specifically for home companionship and marketed exclusively to adults. It uses an emotional AI model to adapt to user interactions and hold natural conversations. Buyers can customize the robot's physical appearance. To address privacy concerns, the robot stores personalized user memories locally using encryption.
UBTECH plans to ship the first batch of units on June 30, 2026. The company is already scheduling a second production run to meet demand.
The product's release has prompted ethics researchers to question the societal impact of intimate human-machine relationships and always-on home robots with memory functions. Commentators note parallels to earlier debates surrounding AI chatbots. In response, UBTECH states the U1 uses offline-only processing for sensitive interactions and gives users direct control over their data management.
Why it matters: The U1's initial pre-order volume demonstrates concrete consumer willingness to pay for full-size humanoid robots designed for personal companionship. This early traction tests a commercial consumer market that has historically struggled to move beyond enterprise, industrial, and educational applications.