On the outskirts of Beijing, young Chinese entrepreneur Chen Hao is sitting on an indoor soccer field, but the grass is not intended for human use. This is where engineers at his startup Booster Robotics use artificial intelligence to train humanoid robots to dribble, pass, shoot and block soccer games.
Mr. Chen, a 37-year-old Beijinger, is a pioneer in China’s decade-long push for humanoid robot technology.
Inspired by the release of Tesla’s first humanoid Optimus and the then-groundbreaking ChatGPT-4, he founded the company in 2023 and hopes to develop the world’s most advanced soccer-playing humanoid.
“There are hundreds of robot soccer teams in the world,” he told CNN. “We need to be the first in this niche and then expand into other markets.”
China’s robot industry has accelerated since the government listed robotics as one of 10 areas in a blueprint to upgrade Chinese industry and shed its reputation as the world’s low-labor factory.
Officials say there are currently more than 150 humanoid robot companies in the country, and the number is steadily increasing.
For many robotics startups like Cheng, sports have become a proving ground to showcase their robots’ capabilities and explore real-world applications.
This led to a boom in robot sports events across China in 2025. Dozens of robots danced together on stage during the Spring Festival, China’s largest annual variety show. Humanoid ran his first half marathon. And Beijing hosted the world’s first humanoid robot competition, putting machines in action in soccer, boxing, martial arts, and other sports.
This boom in robot sports comes as humanoid robots emerge as a major front in China’s global technology race with the United States and other countries. Not only is China eager to tap into the market’s multibillion-dollar potential, it is also working to improve productivity in a country with a rapidly aging workforce.
When CNN met Chen at the company’s lab, engineers were fine-tuning the robot. One robot was suspended from a rope attached to the ceiling while engineers used a remote control to make it jump and land to test its balance.
Another engineer guided the robot around a miniature indoor soccer field, stopping often to closely inspect components.
The team at Booster Robotics was preparing for RoboCup, a major international tournament that tests the use of artificial intelligence in robots to play games.
Soccer has long been recognized as a benchmark task for scientists to test robots. The first tests took place in the 1990s, and the first RoboCup game was born a decade later in Nagoya, Japan. It has now become an annual event.
Peter Stone, a former president of the tournament and a computer science professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said robot soccer requires many “fundamental abilities” such as movement, vision, localization, collaborative strategic planning and adversarial reasoning.
“The inspiring goal of RoboCup is to create a team of robots that can beat the best human soccer team on a real soccer field,” said Stone, who is also chief scientist at Sony AI. “I sometimes liken this to a challenge like landing on the moon. This is an ambitious technological challenge that can only be achieved with the help of advances in science and engineering.”
Chen’s obsession with soccer robots started early. He grew up watching soccer and became obsessed with robots in high school. His undergraduate research included how to train robots to play soccer.
But now Chen is looking beyond that. “We think of robots playing soccer as a test. We test a lot of technology in soccer matches, but in the future we intend to use this technology in factories and homes,” he said.
Robot sports are also a good way to attract attention and investment.
The Exhibition Robot Soccer League, held by Booster Robotics over a weekend in June, was live-streamed online by Chinese state television and attracted sponsors from brands ranging from e-sports and alcoholic beverages to children’s physical training centers. More than 700 tickets were sold at $15 each.
By the end of July last year, the company announced more than $14 million in Series A+ funding. This was just two days after winning the 2025 RoboCup in Brazil.
“It (robot soccer) is a show,” Chen said. “But like the Las Vegas show, there is potential for significant revenue, which would allow us to hire more talent to develop algorithms for future real-world use.”
Behind the scenes of China’s robot sports promotion
As well as the growth of electric vehicles and other high-tech industries, the Chinese government has played a key role in reinvigorating the domestic robot boom.
Li Shi, deputy secretary general of the China Automation Association, has been organizing domestic robot sports games for decades.
“Whether it’s Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen, the government is getting more involved, and with significant investment and extensive media coverage, the influence of robot sports has greatly expanded,” said Li, who presides over junior-level RoboCup matches in China.
In 2021, the Chinese government released a five-year blueprint for the robot industry, outlining various financial incentives, including increased subsidies, research tax breaks, and easier financing.
“The next five years and beyond will be a period of strategic opportunity for China’s robotics industry to achieve independence and technological leap forward,” the plan states.
This explains why China launched the World Humanoid Robot Games last August, co-sponsored by the Beijing municipal government, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, and the World Robotics Cooperation Organization.
The event included a 100-meter relay, boxing, and soccer matches, as well as practical speed tests to see which robots could sort and handle materials the fastest in mock factories and drug stores. Hundreds of companies from 16 countries participated, most of them from China.
The district-level government also held a robot half-marathon last April, broadcast live on dozens of large screens across the city, as well as a pre-game show for companies to showcase their robots and attract investment.
But over time, the industry hopes to show it can grow without government support.
“At this point, we still rely heavily on government support, whether it’s financial support, efforts to raise our profile, or efforts to expand our influence in broader society,” Lee said. “In the long run,[robot sports games]should aim to become self-sustaining.”
Scientists have more work to do if sports robots are to beat human athletes. At the World Humanoid Robot Competition in Beijing, one robot collided with a human operator, and another unexpectedly rotated 90 degrees and crashed into the judges’ seats. The boxing robot frequently missed punches, and the humanoid robot frequently fell on the soccer field, keeping the staff busy.
But for participants, it’s part of the process. Li, who is also a robotics researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said uncovering flaws is important for developers to improve the technology and increase the robot’s capabilities.
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The government included “intelligent robots” in its annual work report for the first time in March 2025, aiming to accelerate the introduction of robots.
Companies are on the same page. Leju and X-humanoid robots have been operating in multiple competitions, and both are testing products for material handling and sorting in factories. Unitree’s humanoids, which danced and boxed, have been deployed to perform the same tests, as well as other scenarios such as industrial inspections.
The trend is similar worldwide. According to a Morgan Stanley study released last August, the humanoid robot industry is shifting its focus from showcasing its technological prowess to exploring expanded real-world adoption and applications.
For example, humanoids from Boston Dynamics and Tesla are being tested for factory logistics. Elon Musk even said at a shareholder meeting in November that Tesla’s Optimus might be able to follow people and prevent crimes, as a “more humane way to contain future crimes.”
This concept has inevitably raised concerns about surveillance, civil liberties, and how to intervene if robots attempt to break the law.
Chen and his startup don’t want to be left behind in the race to develop a viable robot. On October 24, just three months after CNN’s summer visit, the company unveiled a child-sized robot intended for broader public use.
“They are no longer just tools to perform tasks. Instead, we are looking at ‘intelligent agents’ with their own specialized skills,” Chen told hundreds of journalists, investors and business partners at the launch.
“They could be training buddies who walk and run together, tutors who can talk to the kids, and soccer players who sprint down the pitch,” he says. Users can also program them for other uses, he added.
In the early stages of exploring various uses for robots, startups across China are carving out their own niches to avoid being squeezed out of an already crowded market. The goal is the same. The goal is to convince more consumers to buy humanoids.
As Mr. Chen spoke, the words “Limited time offer, starting at 29,900 yuan ($4,200)” flashed on a large screen behind him. It was several times cheaper than conventional soccer-specific robots, and it drew applause from the audience.
The Chinese entrepreneur ended his speech with a call to action, hinting at the possibility of humanoid robots being introduced into homes in the future.
“Let’s create humanoid robots that are as simple, reliable, and practical as personal computers.”
