中国厨电制造商爱仕达借助智元机器人联盟押注机器人业务   2026-07-08

 

Chinese kitchen appliance maker Aishida has entered into a strategic partnership with humanoid robot startup AgiBot to accelerate the development of its robotics business, the company's second core business alongside kitchen appliances.

The partnership will establish a two-way supply chain and technology collaboration mechanism to speed up robot commercialization. Robotics has become an increasingly important growth driver for Aishida after years of investment, although the business remains loss-making.

Under the cooperation agreement signed recently, Shanghai-based AgiBot will open its quadruped robot supply chain to Aishida and provide its embodied artificial intelligence technology platform, helping the Zhejiang province-based manufacturer shorten robot delivery cycles and deploy its products in more factories and retail stores.

Meanwhile, Aishida will use AgiBot's standardized humanoid robot platforms to build a regular interactive training system based on its industrial production scenarios, aiming to address the industry's shortage of real-world robot training data.

Aishida, which began as a cookware and small kitchen appliance manufacturer, acquired industrial robot maker Qianjiang Robot in 2016 to establish robotics as its second growth engine. Revenue from the robotics segment rose 14 percent from a year earlier to CNY309 million (USD45.5 million) last year, accounting for 12 percent of total revenue, according to the company's annual report.

However, weak demand in China's kitchen appliance market weighed on overall performance. Aishida posted a net loss of CNY217 million (USD31.9 million) last year, compared with a net profit of CNY15.1 million (USD2.2 million) a year earlier, while total revenue fell 9 percent to CNY2.7 billion (USD400 million).

The robotics business remains unprofitable because of increased investment in research and development and distribution channels. However, it is expected to break even within two to three years as the technology matures and operating efficiency improves, Liang Rui, Aishida's vice president and general manager of Qianjiang Robot, told Yicai.

AgiBot was founded in 2023 by Peng Zhihui, a former Huawei Technologies researcher, and launched its first humanoid robot in August that year. According to market research firm Omdia, AgiBot ranked first in the global humanoid robot market last year with shipments of almost 5,170 units, representing a 39 percent market share.

 

来源：Yicai Global

 

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