1. Introduction
In 2025, "embodied intelligence" was written into the government work report for the first time, marking the official elevation of this track to a national strategic direction. Embodied intelligence, as a product of the deep integration of artificial intelligence and robotics, is leading the industry transformation from "digital bits" to "physical atoms". In this wave, Changzhou has rapidly emerged as an important pole in the country's embodied intelligence industry, relying on its profound manufacturing heritage and forward-looking industrial layout.
2. Industry Overview
As a national advanced-manufacturing base and regional technology-innovation hub, Changzhou has built a complete robotics chain spanning key components, complete machines and system integration. In 2025, its robotics industry exceeded RMB 40 billion, bringing together more than 300 robotics R&D, manufacturing and supporting companies. The city has 5 national single-product champion enterprises, 23 specialized and innovative 'Little Giant' enterprises, and 104 industrial enterprises above the designated size.
In the emerging field of embodied intelligence, Changzhou has formed an industrial cluster bringing together more than 100 embodied-intelligence robotics companies. As its core area, Wujin District had 88 companies in the embodied-intelligence robotics industry in 2025, including 32 enterprises above the designated size. 1 in every 4 industrial robots in China is made in Wujin, and its collaborative robot output accounts for 60% of the national total.
Changzhou has made embodied intelligence a priority within its "6+X" future-industry system. In June 2026 it began developing an innovation and entrepreneurship cluster for non-Party intellectuals working in embodied intelligence. In August 2026, Changzhou Mayor Zhou Wei conducted a dedicated study of the industry, emphasizing closer integration of innovation, industrial, capital and talent chains.
3. Policy layout
3.1 Top-level planning
In April 2026, Changzhou officially released the Changzhou Three-Year Action Plan for the Artificial Intelligence Terminal Industry (2026–2028). Guided by the city's positioning as an international center of intelligent manufacturing and an innovation hub in the Yangtze River Delta, the plan aims to expand the city's AI terminal industry to more than 2800 hundred million yuan by 2028.
In the development of key sectors, embodied intelligence is identified as a core direction for industry-specific application terminals, with a target industry scale of 20 billion yuan. Priority is given to accelerating R&D on embodied intelligence robot bodies and core modules.
3.2 Regional division of labor
The plan clarifies the differentiated positioning of each jurisdiction:
Wujin District: Focus on embodied intelligence and smart travel
New Taipei District: Focusing on smart travel and smart sensing
Tianning District: Development of consumer terminals
Zhonglou District: Focus on developing big data industry
3.3 development path
Changzhou has defined its embodied-intelligence development path as 'strengthening the component foundation + achieving breakthroughs in complete machines + implementing application scenarios + building ecosystem momentum,' with a target for the city's embodied-intelligence industry to exceed RMB 20 billion by 2028.
3.4 Element Guarantee
Changzhou has launched support policies such as "computing power coupons", released a catalog list of innovative artificial intelligence terminal products, and made good use of the "three firsts and two new" incentive policies. At the same time, a hub platform for the city's robot industry chain will be built, and special events for integrating and strengthening the industrial chain will be held on a regular basis.
3.5 Provincial policy support
The Jiangsu Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology has made it clear that it will launch the "15th Five-Year Plan" for the development of Jiangsu's embodied robot industry and implement more than 40 specific measures, including listing it as a key support direction for "three firsts and two new", and carrying out cluster development pilot construction work, etc.
4. Industry data analysis
4.1 Industry scale
4.2 Enterprise gathering
4.3 Industrial Ecology
Changzhou has formed a complete chain from upstream core components, midstream ontology to downstream integration, building an embodied intelligent industrial ecosystem covering "brain" to "limbs". Wujin District Industrial Collaborative Robot Industry Cluster was successfully selected into the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's small and medium-sized enterprise characteristic industry cluster in 2025.
For application scenarios, Changzhou has introduced 66 representative intelligent-agent use cases and implemented 184 representative scenarios. In June 2026, the Changzhou Embodied Intelligent Robot Scenario Experience Center formally opened, bringing together 104 achievements from 36 local companies.
5. Typical enterprises
5.1 Complete machine and system integration category
Weiyi Zhizao: Founded in 2018 in Zhonglou District, Changzhou, the company has grown into China's largest supplier of industrial embodied-intelligence robots. It ranked first nationwide with an 11.8% market share in IDC's China Industrial Embodied-Intelligence Robot Market Shares, 2025. Its EIIR series has been deployed at scale in sectors including 3C electronics, new energy, automotive manufacturing and semiconductors, serving more than 25 Fortune Global 500 companies in total.
JAKA Robotics is a leading domestic collaborative-robot company, pioneering graphical programming and visual safety protection to fill gaps in domestic technology. In July 2026, its "Application of Industrial-Agent-Based Wheeled Humanoid Robots in Cross-Process Operations on Automotive Lighting Production Lines" was selected as one of the ten representative embodied-intelligent-robot application scenarios in Jiangsu Province. The company has signed a memorandum with Intel to establish strategic cooperation integrating computing capability with task-execution capability.
Aobo Intelligence: The first domestic company to achieve mass production of domestic collaborative robots. It has a manufacturing base in Changzhou, and all industrial collaborative robots 80% are produced in Changzhou, with all core components made locally.
Zhiyuan Robot: A domestic embodied intelligence head enterprise, 2026 4 settled in Wujin High-tech Zone in September.
You must choose: "The first humanoid robot stock" in Hong Kong stocks, 2026 8 will land in Changzhou High-tech Zone in September to build an East China Innovation Center. The project plans to build "three centers and one base" to lay out the embodied intelligence professional data collection center and the intelligent manufacturing business of humanoid robot core components.
Danghong Technology: A nationally recognized specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative 'Little Giant' enterprise. Its embodied intelligence headquarters was established in the Wujin National High-tech Industrial Development Zone in July 2026. It is building a core innovation hub for the embodied intelligence industry to commercialize quadruped and humanoid robots across all application scenarios, directly addressing the shortage of advanced algorithms in Wujin's robotics industry chain.
Hausen Runbo: 2024 will launch the construction of a humanoid robot intelligent manufacturing innovation center to build a standardized experimental platform and application development ecosystem for humanoid robots through data collection and analysis in different application scenarios.
Creativity Robot: Cooperate with Zhiyuan Robot to jointly carry out the training and commercial application of embodied intelligent robot models for CNC machine tool working scenarios.
5.2 core components
Kunwei Sensing: Its six-axis force sensors hold a 53% share in intelligent robotics and more than 70% in collaborative robotics, with shipments ranking first in China. It has served more than 300 companies, including UBTECH, AgiBot, and Galbot. In early 2026, it established annual calibration capacity of 40,000 units and is working toward a target of 60,000 units.
Minzhijie Sensing: Its distinctive glass micro-melting process for six-axis force sensors is unique in China and has received more than 20 patents. In October 2025, it signed an agreement in the Wujin National High-tech Industrial Development Zone for a new project with a total investment of 100 million yuan.
AAC Technology: 2026 For the first time at CES this year, it comprehensively demonstrated a humanoid robot solution covering execution systems and perception systems, and it has been recognized by leading customers in the industry.
RealMan: Specializes in ultralight humanoid robotic arms and has achieved large-scale production of several products. Its embodied intelligence R&D and manufacturing base project has a total investment of 300 million yuan and is expected to produce 300,000 sets of core components and embodied robot bodies annually.
6. Comparative analysis with other cities
6.1 National competitive landscape
According to the DIKI China Embodied Intelligence City Ranking released in April 2026, China's embodied intelligence industry has formed a first tier centered on the 'core triangle' of Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing. The second tier includes Suzhou, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, and other cities. Although Changzhou did not enter the top ten, industry observers have identified it as a 'challenger' city worth watching in embodied intelligence.
In terms of the number of companies, Guangdong ranks first in the country with 71 home-body intelligence companies, followed by Beijing 57 companies, Shanghai 45 companies, Zhejiang 36 companies, and Jiangsu 32 companies. As an important manufacturing city in Jiangsu Province, Changzhou has unique advantages in the manufacturing of embodied intelligent hardware and parts and components.
6.2 Comparison of benchmark cities
6.3 Changzhou’s differentiated advantages
Compared with first-tier cities, Changzhou’s competitive advantages are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
First, strong support from core-component suppliers. Wujin High-Tech Zone has established an embodied-intelligence industry base centered on key robot components. It hosts leading companies including Guomao and Desboer for reducers; Zhaoguan and Pi for vision sensors; RealMan and Weihai for joint modules; Dahuan and INT for dexterous hands; and Kunwei, Minzhijie, Ruierte and AAC Technologies for six-axis force sensors. AUBO's industrial collaborative robots have achieved 100% domestic sourcing of core components.
Second, there are rich manufacturing application scenarios. Changzhou has 34 of the 41 major industrial categories, and has profound accumulation in special industries such as new energy, automobiles, and semiconductors, providing a large number of implementation scenarios for embodied intelligence.
Third, the effect of industrial clusters is significant. The Wujin District Industrial Collaborative Robot Industry Cluster was selected as the featured industrial cluster for small and medium-sized enterprises of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and a full-chain collaborative innovation ecology of “complete machine R&D—core components—material supply—system integration” has been formed.
7. Development Prospects and Suggestions
7.1 Development Prospects
Changzhou's embodied intelligence industry is at a critical transition from building momentum to taking off. In the first half of 2026, the city saw several landmark developments: AgiBot established a presence, an agreement was signed for Danghong Technology's embodied intelligence headquarters, and UBTECH's East China Innovation Center was established. Weiyi Zhizao led China's industrial embodied intelligence robot market with an 11.8% share.
Under Changzhou's Three-Year Action Plan for the Artificial Intelligence Terminal Industry (2026–2028), the city's embodied intelligence industry is expected to exceed 20 billion yuan by 2028. Given the current growth rate and pace of major project implementation, this target may be achieved ahead of schedule.
7.2 Development Suggestions
First, make up for the shortcomings of high-end algorithms and software. Changzhou has significant advantages in hardware manufacturing and parts matching, but it still has shortcomings in underlying software technologies such as embodied intelligent large models, world models, and physical AI simulations. The settlement of Danghong Technology is a precise complement to this shortcoming. It is recommended to further increase efforts to attract algorithm teams and software companies.
Second, strengthen capital and financial support. Compared with Shenzhen's 76 financing transactions totaling 10.96 billion yuan and Beijing's 37 transactions totaling 7.012 billion yuan, Changzhou still has substantial room to increase investment activity in embodied intelligence. Preparations are underway for the Wujin High-tech Zone Embodied Intelligence Robotics Industry Investment Fund. Its launch should be accelerated and its scale expanded.
Third, deepen scene opening and data accumulation. Changzhou has explored the "1+X+N" scenario cultivation model, and it is recommended to further open up industrial, urban governance and other scenarios, accumulate real physical interaction data required for embodied intelligence training, and form a positive cycle of "scenario-data-model-application".
Fourth, strengthen regional coordination and ecological construction. Changzhou should give full play to the role of carriers such as the West Taihu Artificial Intelligence International Community, industrial salons, and industrial chain hub platforms to promote the deep integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain. At the same time, it should actively integrate into the Yangtze River Delta embodied smart industry ecology and form a dislocated and coordinated development pattern with cities such as Shanghai and Suzhou.
8. Conclusion
The rise of Changzhou's embodied intelligence industry is a successful practice of "manufacturing genes + forward-looking layout". Relying on a solid industrial foundation, a complete industrial chain and an increasingly perfect industrial ecology, Changzhou is accelerating its transformation from a traditional "industrial town" to an "intelligent manufacturing city". In the competition with first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, although Changzhou still lags behind in terms of industrial scale and number of enterprises, it has formed unique advantages in subdivided areas such as supporting core parts and components and implementing manufacturing scenarios.
With the implementation of a number of leading projects and the continued development of industrial policies, Changzhou is expected to occupy a more important position in the national embodied intelligence industry map.
Source: Changzhou Industrial Park
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