Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, has achieved what no Chinese entrepreneur has done in eight years: appear on the cover of TIME Magazine.
The cover, published July 23, features Wang alongside Unitree’s mech product GD01 under the headline “The Robot Age Is Here.” The last time a Chinese business leader appeared on TIME’s cover was eight years ago.
TIME describes Wang as “an atypical oracle of the AI era” — a slender, bespectacled founder who “lacks the flamboyant hubris of many tech founders” and instead discusses robotics with “quiet conviction.”
The cover story comes as Unitree’s G1 humanoid robot has gained global attention, recently sparking Japanese media to publish a teardown analysis that concluded China’s robotics technology has moved beyond the demonstration stage. Wang himself is known for taking a pragmatic approach to humanoid robotics, focusing on cost reduction and real-world deployment.
The TIME cover marks a symbolic moment: Chinese robotics is no longer a behind-the-scenes supplier or manufacturer — it now has a face on the world’s most recognized magazine cover.
Translated and adapted from Sohu IT (it.sohu.com).