China Opens Beijing Robot Mall Featuring 100+ Humanoids Amid $20B Industry Boost

China has opened one of its first dedicated robot stores, Robot Mall, in Beijing, offering over 100 humanoid and consumer-oriented robots ranging from mechanical butlers to lifelike replicas of figures like Albert Einstein. The store not only sells robots priced between 2,000 yuan ($278) and several million yuan but also provides maintenance, spare parts, and customer service, operating similarly to a high-end car dealership. Situated next to a themed restaurant where robots cook and serve meals, the store aims to help robotics companies commercialize their products and make them accessible to a broader public. This launch coincides with the World Robot Conference in Beijing and precedes the first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games, highlighting China's significant investment in AI and robotics, backed by over $20 billion in subsidies last year and plans for a 1 trillion yuan fund for startups. The initiative is part of China's strategic response to challenges such as slowing economic growth and an ageing population, emphasizing the country's ambition to lead in AI and robotic technologies. Wang Yifan, the store director, stressed the necessity of personalized solutions beyond robotics companies to facilitate robots entering thousands of households.