Humanoid robots' 'ChatGPT moment' could be 10 years away, Unitree founder says

XI'AN, CHINA - JULY 22: Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, speaks at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Internet Conference Digital Silk Road Development Forum on July 22, 2026 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province of China. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesHumanoid robots may be a decade away from their "ChatGPT moment," Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing has said, following his company's soaring market debut.Unitree debuted in Shanghai on Wednesday and soared to close 460% above its 150.80 yuan offer price, more than five times the price at which the company priced its $905 million initial public offering, amid huge interest in humanoid robotics as an emerging sector.But speaking Thursday at the World Robot Conference in Beijing, Wang said a true breakthrough for robotics — its "ChatGPT moment" — will be when a robot can be placed in an unfamiliar home and complete about 80% of tasks through text or voice commands alone.That could "arrive in two to three years if things move fast, or five to 10 years if they move slowly," he said, according to CNBC's translation of his speech in Mandarin.The forecast is more cautious than Wang's speech at the same conference last year...