A CNBC China Connection report published April 21 finds that Chinese humanoid startups occupied all six top positions in Omdia's 2025 global robot shipment rankings, while U.S. rivals remain in development mode at far higher valuations. AI2 Robotics — valued at roughly $2.93 billion — is already deploying units at Chinese airports and in semiconductor and healthcare factories; Figure commands a $39 billion U.S. valuation with no comparable production volume. Investors on each side are pricing the sector differently: U.S. VCs are treating humanoid companies as broad AI platforms, while Chinese backers treat them as industrial hardware plays with near-term factory contracts as the measure of success.