Xiaomi Plans Mass Deployment of Humanoid Robots in Factories Within Five Years

Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said humanoid robots will be deployed at scale across the company's manufacturing facilities within the next five years, marking a significant step in the tech giant's push toward advanced automation.

Speaking in an interview with Beijing Daily published December 1, Lei outlined how artificial intelligence will reshape traditional industries over the coming years. "All industries are worth redoing with AI," he said, signaling the company's broader ambitions beyond consumer electronics.

Lei cited Xiaomi's automotive plant as an example of AI integration in manufacturing. The facility uses X-ray machines combined with AI vision models to inspect large die-cast components, completing quality checks in two seconds—10 times faster than manual inspection with five times greater precision. Such tasks would be nearly impossible for human workers to perform effectively using visual inspection alone, he noted.

The deployment of humanoid robots in factories represents just the initial phase of a larger opportunity, according to Lei. "This is only the first step. The household market has even greater demand for humanoid robots, with higher requirements and a bigger market," he said.

Lei emphasized that the deep integration of AI with traditional industries will unlock a trillion-level market, though no single company can dominate all aspects. Success will require collaboration with leading partners across the value chain to drive industry-wide upgrades, he added.

The executive also stressed that Beijing's manufacturing sector should pursue smart manufacturing rather than relying on labor-intensive approaches common elsewhere. "Beijing's manufacturing industry cannot follow the old path of competing on manpower like other regions, but should firmly take the new route of intelligent manufacturing, seize the commanding heights of intelligence, and drive industrial iteration and upgrading," Lei said.