- Province wants newly launched platform to develop sustainable business models
- Officials prioritize shared AI models, data infrastructure and talent training
Hangzhou should work to turn its newly launched national embodied AI pilot base into a commercially sustainable and industry-leading platform, a top Zhejiang official said on May 19.
Provincial governor Liu Jie made the remarks during a special provincial government meeting focused on the operation of the National Pilot Base for Embodied Intelligence Applications, which officially opened on May 16 in Hangzhou’s Binjiang district.
The meeting comes as the Chinese tech hub, often known as the Chinese answer to Silicon Valley, ramps up efforts to cement its position in China’s fast-growing embodied AI sector.
The facility is currently China’s only national-level pilot platform dedicated to embodied AI.
Liu said the platform “cannot become a showcase that is built but unused,” calling for bolder experimentation and business models capable of generating sustainable revenue.
He stressed that while the government should provide infrastructure and policy support, companies must remain the core drivers under a market-oriented framework.
Another priority, Liu said, is building industry-wide foundational AI models and aggregating high-quality datasets to strengthen the “brains”—embodied AI models—powering robots, while cultivating talent that combines both industrial expertise and AI knowledge.
The pilot base has already deployed more than 130 robots across over 30 real-world application scenarios, including restaurants, industrial inspection, fruit picking and underground operations.
The platform operates under a mixed-ownership structure led by state-backed firms with participation from major technology companies.
So far, 18 companies have signed on as partners, including state-backed Hangzhou High-tech Innovation Group and Hangzhou Data Group, alongside private firms such as humanoid robotics startups Unitree (宇树科技) and Galbot (银河通用) as well as GPU makers Moore Threads (摩尔线程) and MetaX (沐曦股份).
Earlier this month, Hangzhou also implemented China’s first local regulation dedicated to embodied intelligence, underscoring the city’s bid to position itself as a national AI hub.
