From April 24 to 26, 2025, the inaugural Full-Industry Robotics Linkage Conference (FAIR Plus 2025) was successfully held at the Shenzhen Futian Convention and Exhibition Center. With its unprecedented scale, deep industry integration, and rich display of technological achievements, the event marked another significant milestone in the development of Shenzhen's robotics industry while injecting new momentum into the global robotics sector. This article will analyze FAIR Plus 2025’s landmark significance across six dimensions: industrial scale, technological innovation, corporate competition, academia-industry collaboration, commercial applications, and future prospects.
1. Shenzhen’s Robotics Industry: Growth and Agglomeration Effects
Shenzhen’s robotics industry has maintained robust growth in recent years. In 2024, the total output value of the industry surpassed 200 billion yuan (approximately $28 billion USD) for the first time, reaching 201.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.58%. This growth rate outpaced the overall strategic emerging industries in Shenzhen (10.5%), underscoring the pivotal role of robotics as an economic engine.
FAIR Plus 2025 attracted over 35,000 professional attendees and more than 600 overseas buyers for in-depth business matchmaking, establishing a one-stop platform for hardware procurement and technical exchanges. The exhibition featured physical displays from 150 core and whole-machine robotics companies and participation from 350 supply chain-related enterprises, covering 500 application scenarios for embodied intelligence—from core components to system integration—creating a complete and efficient industrial ecosystem.
This agglomeration effect not only optimized resource allocation but also fostered collaborative innovation among companies, significantly reducing R&D and supply chain costs. It has strengthened overall competitiveness and laid a solid foundation for Shenzhen’s robotics industry to expand globally.
Figure: The successful conclusion of FAIR Plus 2025
2. Accelerated Technological Innovation: High-End and Intelligent Trends Unstoppable
During the exhibition, Shenzhen-based robotics companies unveiled numerous cutting-edge innovations. For example, UBTECH Robotics launched a next-generation humanoid robot, "Tiangong Walker," capable of adapting to complex terrains and priced under 300,000 yuan ($42,000 USD). It secured over 100 pre-orders, signaling a breakthrough in the commercialization of humanoid robots. Tencent’s Robotics X Lab showcased the "Little Five" robot, featuring a wheeled-leg hybrid design and a five-finger dexterous hand tailored for elderly care tasks such as delivering medicine and opening doors, demonstrating practical application potential.
Additionally, Zhaowei Machinery showcased a biomimetic dexterous hand that can precisely grasp fragile objects like eggs, while Orbbec released a 3D vision sensor enabling robots with "spatial awareness." Damo Technology introduced tactile sensors capable of finely recognizing textures on mahjong tiles, further expanding the boundaries of robotic fine perception.
Behind these innovations lies the sustained investment in R&D by Shenzhen’s robotics companies. In 2024, the city added 14,534 robotics-related enterprises, a year-on-year increase of 39.64%, with 3,915 companies holding robotics patents—a 6.04% increase. Patent applications reached 20,531, up 35.56%, and patent grants totaled 7,575, growing by 36.14%. Notably, 223 of the newly established companies hold robotics-related patents, marking a tenfold increase. These figures highlight Shenzhen’s dual advancements in both quality and quantity of innovation and intellectual property accumulation.
Figure: Robots showcased at FAIR Plus 2025
3. Corporate Competition and Regional Synergy: Multi-Center, Co-opetition Ecosystem
FAIR Plus 2025 pioneered a full-industry robotics exhibition zone, attracting Shenzhen’s "Thirteen Protectors" (e.g., UBTECH, Dobot, Orbbec, RoboSense, Pudu Tech) and Hangzhou’s "Four Dragons" (e.g., Unitree Robotics, BrainCo, DeepRobotics) to compete on the same stage.
Local Shenzhen stars excelled in core components, humanoid robots, collaborative robots, 3D perception, and LiDAR, showcasing the city’s powerful innovation engine. Meanwhile, outstanding robotics companies from Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Suzhou brought advanced achievements in niche fields, fostering healthy competition and regional synergy. This multi-center, co-opetition ecosystem accelerates technological iteration and market expansion, contributing to a more resilient and innovative global robotics industry.
4. Academia-Industry Collaboration and Standardization: Building Foundations for Innovation and Norms
FAIR Plus 2025 hosted high-level forums covering financial investment, core technology breakthroughs, and application scenario matching, alongside seven community-building meetings focused on key aspects of the robotics supply chain, including perception, decision-making, execution, and energy management.
Notably, several national standard-setting working group meetings were held concurrently, addressing topics such as perception module standards and embodied intelligence system interoperability. By soliciting input from enterprises, these efforts promoted simultaneous progress in standard formulation, research, and project initiation. A robust standardization framework enhances component compatibility and modular interoperability, lowers enterprise costs, and accelerates the transformation of innovations into practical solutions—a cornerstone for Shenzhen’s sustainable robotics development.
Figure: Multiple thematic summits at FAIR Plus 2025
5. Commercial Applications and Scenario Implementation: Unlocking New Value
Shenzhen has been actively promoting the opening of AI and robotics application scenarios in recent years. Building on this foundation, FAIR Plus 2025 deepened supply-demand matching. Focused on the needs of leading organizations such as Nanshan District, Vanke Group, China Southern Power Grid, CGN, Shenzhen Airlines, and Waterworks Group, the event emphasized high-potential scenarios like curtain wall cleaning, landscaping, fire rescue, industrial production, and construction.
Preliminary statistics indicate nearly 50 tentative cooperation agreements were reached during the event, involving over 60 million yuan ($8.5 million USD). These results reflect Shenzhen’s strong demand and capability to implement robotics applications commercially, marking a transition from technical exploration to large-scale deployment and deep industry empowerment.
6. Expanding Influence and Future Outlook: Shenzhen Leads Globally
FAIR Plus 2025 garnered extensive coverage from mainstream and specialized media outlets, including CCTV Finance, Sina Tech, Yicai, 36Kr, and Southern Metropolis Daily. Hundreds of professional journalists reported live, and industry influencers streamed their explorations of the exhibition, significantly boosting Shenzhen’s global visibility and brand recognition in robotics.
The global robotics industry is undergoing a critical transformation from hardware manufacturing to integrated software-hardware systems and intelligent decision-making. With the convergence of AI, 5G, edge computing, and embodied intelligence, robots are poised to penetrate deeply into industrial, commercial, and consumer sectors. The global market size is projected to exceed $250 billion USD by 2027.
Shenzhen, leveraging its strong manufacturing base, complete supply chain, leading R&D capabilities, and government support, is well-positioned to continue leading the global robotics industry. Looking ahead, Shenzhen’s robotics enterprises will play increasingly pivotal roles in technological breakthroughs, standard setting, and international expansion, shaping the new landscape of the global robotics sector.
Conclusion
The success of FAIR Plus 2025 comprehensively demonstrated Shenzhen’s robotics industry’s hard-core strength and boundless potential. From scale effects to technological innovation, from standard leadership to commercial implementation, Shenzhen is striding confidently toward becoming a core leader in the global robotics industry. Let us look forward to the grand opening of the next FAIR Plus exhibition from April 22 to 24, 2026, where we will witness another leap in robotics and see Shenzhen’s influence shine on the global stage.
