Nvidia to partner with US and European humanoid robot makers, plus China's Unitree

• Nvidia is partnering with Unitree (China), plus unnamed companies in the U.S., Europe, and South Korea to create research-focused humanoid robots with standardized components
• U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation to ban purchases of Unitree robots by researchers receiving federal funding due to alleged Chinese government and military connections
• Nvidia's Blackwell chips will integrate security features like secure boot and confidential computing to prevent malicious code execution and unauthorized data transfers from the robots

Nvidia Expands Humanoid Robotics Partnerships Globally, Including Controversial China Deal

Nvidia announced plans to collaborate with humanoid robot manufacturers across the U.S., Europe, South Korea, and China to develop research-focused robots. The partnerships were revealed following CEO Jensen Huang's keynote at Taiwan's Computex trade show on Monday, June 1.

Key Partnership Details:

The company's most developed collaboration involves China's Unitree, a prominent humanoid robot maker currently pursuing a public listing in China. The standardized research robot will feature:

• Body: Unitree's H2 platform
• Hands: Singapore-based Sharpa components
• Computing platform: Nvidia's Blackwell chips

Academic institutions including Stanford University and UC San Diego plan to deploy these machines for research purposes.

Political Complications:

The Unitree partnership faces regulatory headwinds, as U.S. lawmakers have alleged the Chinese company maintains extensive ties to China's government and military. Pending legislation could ban Unitree robots from use by U.S. government-funded researchers. Unitree gained public attention when its dancing robots featured prominently at China's Spring Festival gala earlier this year.

Security Enhancements:

Nvidia executives emphasized cybersecurity improvements as a primary objective. The integration of Blackwell chips will enable:

• Secure boot protocols
• Confidential computing capabilities
• Software authentication for all robot subsystem updates
• Protection against malicious code and unauthorized data transfers

These features mirror security technologies used in Nvidia's data center servers.

Future Expansion:

While Nvidia executives confirmed additional partnerships with robotics firms in the U.S., Europe, and South Korea, specific partner names remain undisclosed. The company plans to use these robots internally for its own research initiatives.