Chinese robotics companies are looking to the Gulf as a possible manufacturing centre for the next generation of AI-powered machines, as the region's capital, energy resources and industrial ambitions create opportunities for partnerships.
Beijing-based robotics company LinkerBot is among those exploring opportunities in the UAE, where it is in talks with major institutions on potential partnerships, Weber Su, the company's vice president and head of global markets, said during the AIM Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.
One model being considered would involve Chinese companies supplying advanced robotics parts, while the UAE provides capital-intensive assembly and automated production.
Such an arrangement could allow Gulf countries to take part directly in making advanced robots, rather than mainly buying the technology.
“That could be the business model that we are exploring with Middle Eastern countries, particularly in UAE,” Mr Su said.
LinkerBot specialises in dexterous robotic hands, enabling machines to grasp and manipulate objects. It has expanded into components including reducers and micromotors that control robotic movement.
The potential collaboration reflects a broader trend in which Asian companies seek international manufacturing partners, while Gulf economies use their capital, energy and infrastructure to build higher-value industries. In September, Chinese electric and extended-range vehicle maker ROX Motor began producing vehicles in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE, meanwhile, is also boosting manufacturing and under its Operation 300bn strategy aims to increase the industrial sector's contribution to gross domestic product to Dh300 billion by 2031.
The country's industrial exports rose 25 per cent last year to a record Dh262 billion, with medium and high-technology exports increasing 42 per cent to Dh92 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.
The UAE is also investing in automation to improve manufacturing competitiveness.
Mr Su said Chinese companies could increasingly focus on specialised robotics parts, while Gulf partners develop the capital-intensive assembly operations needed to bring those technologies to market.
Turning that potential into commercially successful partnerships will require investment agreements, viable production models and sustained demand for AI-powered machines.
The next wave of AI?
The potential partnerships come as the technology industry moves towards what investors and developers describe as the next stage of artificial intelligence: physical AI.
Chinese AI developers including DeepSeek, Zhipu AI and Moonshot AI are becoming increasingly competitive with their US rivals, offering advanced models at lower costs, according to Joseph Zeng, founder and chief investment officer of Hong Kong-based Arcadia Fund Management Group.
While generative AI has focused on chatbots, content creation and software applications, the next phase is expected to bring intelligent systems into the physical world.
Physical AI combines advanced AI models with robotics, allowing machines to interpret their surroundings, make decisions and perform tasks traditionally requiring human intervention.
Unlike conventional industrial robots, which are generally programmed for repetitive movements, the ambition is to develop machines capable of adapting to different situations.
Applications could include robotic hands manipulating unfamiliar objects, autonomous machines working across production lines and robots assisting hospital patients.
Mr Su said advances in computing power and AI models were making these capabilities increasingly possible.
LinkerBot is developing robotic hands with built-in movement ability that could eventually be combined with sophisticated AI systems to perform a wider range of tasks.
“We're going to have skill stores similar to the app stores,” Mr Su said.
China's manufacturing scale could give its companies an advantage as the technology shifts towards commercial production.
The country installed about 295,000 industrial robots in 2024, accounting for 54 per cent of global installations, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
The figures refer to factory robots rather than humanoids, but demonstrate the scale of China's industrial automation industry and supporting supply chains.
SK hynix held 50 per cent of the global high-bandwidth memory market by revenue in the second quarter of 2026, while Samsung accounted for 33 per cent, according to Counterpoint Research data reported by the Yonhap news agency.
Opportunities beyond robotics
"Physical AI provides a lot of opportunities for investors,” said Mr Zeng, whose investments include ByteDance and Zhipu AI in China, as well as South Korea's SK hynix and Samsung.
The next stage of AI would require advances in computing hardware and infrastructure, he added.
He identified high-bandwidth memory, optical transceivers and robotics components among the technologies benefitting from rising investment. Health care could also become an important market.
During a recent visit to Suzhou, near Shanghai, Mr Zeng said he encountered a company developing a voice-controlled robot designed to assist bedridden patients with repositioning and personal care.
Mr Su said humanoid robots could eventually help to care for elderly people and children in smaller communities, where shrinking populations make it difficult to attract doctors and maintain healthcare services.
While fully autonomous, general-purpose robots are still being developed, their potential to ease labour shortages, reduce care costs and extend essential services to underserved communities illustrates the social and economic impact physical AI could have beyond factories.
For the Gulf, opportunities could include using autonomous systems in established industries.
Mr Zeng highlighted electric and autonomous heavy-duty trucks for mining and industrial operations, alongside energy storage and cleaner power technologies.
Energy is also becoming increasingly important to AI investment.
Global data-centre electricity use is expected to more than double to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.
The forecast highlights the importance of electricity generation, storage and cooling infrastructure as AI adoption accelerates.
For Gulf countries with substantial energy resources and growing renewable power capacity, this creates another potential area of collaboration with Asian technology developers.
