Midea Rebrands Subsidiary to Focus on Robotics Business Expansion
Midea has restructured its subsidiary, renaming Guangdong Midea Electric to Kuka Robot Automation (Guangdong), signaling a strategic shift toward robotics and automation. The business scope has been adjusted to prioritize industrial robot manufacturing and sales, intelligent robot R&D, and consumer service robot production.
The wholly-owned subsidiary, established in March 2017 with registered capital of approximately RMB 1 billion (US$139 million), is led by Gu Yanmin, who serves as Midea's director, vice president, head of its robotics and automation division, and chairman of Kuka Group's supervisory board.
Midea's robotics ambitions date back to 2015 when it first acquired a 5.4% stake in German industrial robot manufacturer Kuka, one of the industry's "big four." The company progressively increased its holdings, ultimately completing 100% acquisition and privatization of Kuka in 2022 following a EUR 3.7 billion deal in 2017. In the first three quarters of 2025, Midea's robotics and automation business, centered on Kuka, generated revenue of RMB 22.6 billion (US$3.1 billion).
According to Midea's CTO Wei Chang, the company's robotics strategy encompasses three tiers: integrating AI with industrial robots, transforming home appliances into robotic products, and developing humanoid robots across various form factors including humanoid, fully humanoid, and superhuman configurations.
Midea established a humanoid robot innovation center in 2024, focusing on core components and complete system development. In May 2025, its industrial humanoid robot "Merlow 1" began operating at Midea's Jingzhou washing machine factory, handling inspection, maintenance, and material transport tasks. The company also unveiled "Mella," a household humanoid robot, at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in July.
Innovation center director Xi Wei indicated that Midea's humanoid platform includes three robot series currently at different development stages. The X-series generation one design is complete and entering internal testing, with application trials expected next year. The company is prioritizing industrial applications before expanding to commercial and household services.
Midea has also signed an agreement with Shanghai's Qingpu District for an embodied intelligence technology platform project valued at RMB 1.5 billion (US$208 million), targeting both household and industrial scenarios. The company is exploring collaborations with AI model developers and has reached preliminary cooperation intentions with Zidong Taichu.