UBTech signs Airbus deal for Walker S2 humanoid in aviation manufacturing

UBTech signs Airbus deal for Walker S2 humanoid in aviation manufacturing

UBTech Robotics has signed an agreement with Airbus under which Airbus has purchased Walker S2 robots and the two companies will jointly explore humanoid robot applications in aviation manufacturing facilities. No unit quantity or deal value has been disclosed. Airbus described the cooperation as early-stage concept testing with no indication of wider industrial deployment.

UBTech Robotics was founded in Shenzhen in 2012 by Zhou Jian, who graduated from Nanjing Forestry University with a degree in wood processing engineering and began his career in sales and technical management at Michael Weinig, a German woodworking machinery company, before turning to robotics.

After a Series C round backed by Tencent and ICBC, UBTech reached a $5 billion valuation. The company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2023 as the first Chinese humanoid robot maker to go public, raising approximately HKD 914 million; Tencent holds a 6.3% stake. The company conducted four additional share offerings in 2024 raising approximately HKD 2.07 billion, and a further HKD 2.41 billion in July 2025. UBTech remains loss-making; most of its existing revenue comes from professional service robots in education, security, and commercial settings rather than from its industrial humanoid line.

Walker S2 stands 1.76 metres tall and is capable of autonomous battery-swapping; mass production began in November 2025. The robot is equipped with dexterous arms and hands, a vision system, and a rotating waist that allows it to turn nearly 180 degrees without moving its feet; it can carry loads of up to 15 kilograms. The autonomous battery-swap capability allows the robot to manage its own charging cycle without human intervention, relevant for factories running multiple shifts.

UBTech reported total humanoid robot order value exceeding RMB 1.4 billion, approximately $200 million, in 2025, which the company described as the highest in the global humanoid sector. Named customers deploying Walker S2 robots include Foxconn and automotive manufacturers BYD, Audi-FAW, FAW Volkswagen, and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motors. UBTech is forecasting delivery of 5,000 units in 2026 and annual production capacity of 10,000 by 2027.

The Airbus agreement is part of a deliberate international expansion push. A similar partnership with Texas Instruments was signed the previous month, and UBTech has framed its overseas strategy around five industrial sectors: aviation manufacturing, vehicle manufacturing, 3C electronics manufacturing, smart logistics, and semiconductor manufacturing. The Airbus deal is the first publicly named aviation customer; prior deployments have been concentrated in Chinese automotive and electronics manufacturing.

The aviation manufacturing context is specifically relevant to the humanoid form factor. Airbus has invested heavily in robotics and automation over the past decade, with fixed and mobile robotic systems already used for drilling, fastening, inspection, and material handling. Aircraft assembly environments, however, are built around humans and involve tasks in confined spaces, varied orientations, and complex part geometries that fixed automation addresses poorly. The humanoid form factor is positioned as complementary to existing systems rather than a replacement for them.

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