CN — TechNode

Noetix’s RMB9,998 Humanoid Is Just the Start

RoboticsOctober 30, 20262 min read

Noetix Robotics, a young Chinese company, sold a small humanoid robot called Bumi for RMB9,998 to buyers who could never before afford such machines. The company now wants to grow into a much bigger business.

A robot priced for ordinary buyers

Noetix Robotics introduced Bumi in October 2025. It is a small humanoid robot, a machine with a body shaped like a person. It costs RMB9,998, and it is aimed at programming classes and companionship. Children can program its moves, watch it dance and play with it. The company chose to make the body cheap and capable first, and to improve its smart software later. Noetix is now trying to grow, make more robots, build its own AI models and sell overseas. Media reports say it has quietly applied for a listing in Hong Kong, possibly in 2027.

Why the body came first

Founder Jiang Zheyuan left his PhD studies at Tsinghua University in 2023 and started Noetix that September. He focused first on the robot's body and motion control. This means the parts and software that help it balance, move and react reliably. A robot can do hard movements while using outside AI for talking or harder tasks. Jiang said that unreliable bodies and weak factory readiness were the biggest problems at the start. Bumi also uses composite materials, which are mixed materials, to cut down on metal and lower the cost.

Key facts

Price of Bumi: RMB9,998.
Noetix was founded in September 2023.
Its N2 robot finished second in the 2025 Beijing humanoid half-marathon.
At the AWE exhibition in March, Jiang set a goal of more than 10,000 Bumi sales in 2026.
The robots appeared in a sketch with comedian Cai Ming on the 2026 Spring Festival Gala.

Why this matters

Noetix shows that humanoid robots may move from labs and big demonstrations into homes and schools. The big test is whether its hardware sales bring in enough customers, experience and money to pay for the harder AI work ahead. Making robots is hard. Making enough of them, on time and at good quality, is harder.

What to watch

Whether Noetix reaches its goal of more than 10,000 Bumi sales in 2026.
Whether it can get enough parts and run its production lines well.
Whether its Hong Kong listing application moves forward.
How well its own embodied-intelligence AI models work.
Whether its overseas sales plans succeed.

Glossary

Noetix Robotics: A Chinese company that builds small humanoid robots, including the Bumi robot.
Bumi: A small, low-cost humanoid robot for programming education and companionship, priced at RMB9,998.
Hong Kong listing: Selling shares of a company to the public on the Hong Kong stock market, which is called going public.

Humanoid Robot Climbs Ladders and Balances After Single Training Session

Researchers from ETH Zurich and collaborators developed a humanoid robot control technology that, after one round of training, lets a Unitree G1 climb ladders, jump obstacles, and recover its balance after falling. The system, called Attention-based Contact Planning (ACP), plans which body parts, such as hands, feet, knees, and elbows, should touch the environment, and a separate controller adjusts the joints to reach those points. In simulation tests across eight complex obstacle courses, ACP achieved an average 92.5% success rate, compared with 58.8% for a baseline method, though the authors note that real-world success rates were not established by this figure.

RoboticsITmediaOct 30

AEON Pushes Logistics Overhaul With Physical AI, Reaches 50% Automation at Distribution Hub Amid Labor Shortage

AEON and robot control software firm Mujin unveiled AEON Kawaguchi-Higashi XD, a distribution hub in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, that uses physical AI-equipped robots, with about 50% of operations automated. The hub began full operation on October 29, serving about 200 Maibasket small supermarkets in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and AEON plans to raise automation to 80% by 2030 and roll out physical AI across its group logistics sites nationwide.

Roboticsheise onlineOct 30

heise+ | Machine Space Management: Build Your Own Adapter Plate System

The article describes a DIY adapter plate system for workshops. Each machine is permanently mounted on a wooden plate with a standardized hole pattern, which can be bolted to any workbench, so the workshop can be reconfigured as needed. The article is a paywalled heise+ piece; only an excerpt is available.

RoboticsTechNodeOct 29

WeRide’s physical AI data subsidiary raises tens of millions of dollars

Jingshuo, a WeRide subsidiary that builds data infrastructure for physical AI, has raised tens of millions of dollars in pre-Series A funding from investors including Vision Knight Capital, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and Sirius Capital. The company plans to use the money to grow its R&D team, develop its data platform, world models, and reusable robot skill systems, and produce more high-quality datasets. It remains a majority-owned WeRide subsidiary and is still consolidated into the parent's financials.