Chinese e-commerce giant holds world's first humanoid robot auction

E-commerce giant JD.com has unveiled its plan to launch the first global auction of humanoid robots, as part of the annual shopping festival "618" scheduled for 2026. The announcement came during the launch ceremony of the current shopping season, reflecting the frantic acceleration in the Chinese competition for dominance in artificial intelligence technologies and advanced robotics. The company explained that the auction will form a pivotal part of the package Exclusive promotions and sales that extend throughout the event, without yet revealing the details of the participating robots or the numbers of models offered. Technological industry experts predict that this auction will attract wide interest from major companies, research centers and investors seeking early access to new-generation humanoid robotics technologies. In the context of its ambitious expansion plans, the company announced a five-year strategy that includes the deployment of 3 million robots and a million autonomous vehicles, as well as 100,000 drones. It also aims to boost robot sales to more than $1.47 billion in 2026, while accelerating the product rollout cycle by 30 percent. Dai Wengun, president of the company's Joy Inside platform, confirmed the platform's ability to connect more than 10 million smart and robotic devices within a unified system this year. This integration will enable devices to communicate, exchange data and work in harmony Perfect, especially after the joining of specialized companies such as Unitry and Nautics Robotics. This initiative is in line with Shanghai's plan to expand the use of humanoid robots in factories, as it seeks to deploy 100,000 robots by 2030 within the "AI Plus" program designed to accelerate industrial transformation and build a new smart economy.