DeepSeek + Unitree, robot centaurs, Zoox, Avatar, and more in Humanoid Daily #11
DeepSeek and Unitree join forces on physical AI
DeepSeek is becoming a strategic investor in Unitree, and the relationship goes well beyond buying shares.
According to Unitree’s newly released IPO documents, the two Chinese technology companies have established a partnership focused on AI models, robots and embodied intelligence.
Unitree will give DeepSeek preference when purchasing model-training services, large-model technology, and other AI capabilities
DeepSeek, meanwhile, will give Unitree preference when purchasing humanoid robots, quadrupeds, robotics platforms, and equipment for exploring embodied-AI applications
To oversimplify: Unitree has the body; DeepSeek has the brain.
Unitree has expertise in locomotion, balance, actuators, whole-body control and building robots that can move through the physical world.
DeepSeek brings higher-level intelligence: language understanding, reasoning, planning and the ability to break human instructions into executable steps.
In theory, that combination could eventually let someone tell a Unitree robot to put away a collection of objects and have the robot identify them, plan the task, perform it and correct mistakes along the way.
Unitree has impressive robots, and DeepSeek has powerful reasoning models.
Putting those capabilities together could help solve one of humanoid robotics’ biggest problems: turning machines into useful workers.
Forget humanoids, now we have centaurs with chainsaws
Here is possibly the most terrifying-looking rescue robot ever built.
Threehalves is a seven-foot-tall, four-legged robot with horns, glowing eyes and a chainsaw. It looks like the final boss in a video game.
Honestly, I’m not certain whether or not this is real … perhaps some form of satire?
But California startup Satyress Robotics says it is actually being developed to protect forestry and emergency workers.
Threehalves is designed to enter dangerous areas such as wildfire zones, unstable terrain and disaster sites. A remote human operator could use it to cut fallen trees, clear debris or operate other power tools without standing directly beside the danger.
It is not autonomous.
Every movement is controlled by a person, with cameras inside the robot’s horns giving the operator a wide view of its tools and limbs.
The robot’s four-legged design should also provide good stability on rubble, ash and uneven ground than a conventional biped. Its wrists use quick-release mounts, allowing operators to swap the chainsaw for drills, impact wrenches and other tools.
And in case you were wondering: yes, the company has considered what happens if the giant horned chainsaw robot malfunctions.
The company says a “loss of air pressure” automatically locks its joints, immobilizing the machine. Why a robot needs pressurized air, I have no idea, and it adds to my general feeling of disbelief, honestly.
If it’s real, Threehalves is still in development, with commercial deployment reportedly at least two years away.
So it is not coming to a forest near you tomorrow.
Probably.
Avatar’s humans train the robots
Avatar Robotics has raised $6.5 million to expand its industrial humanoid deployments and develop more autonomous software.
Its robots perform jobs including picking, packing, sorting and moving materials, and remote human operators can take control whenever necessary. That allows the robots to work today while collecting training data for greater autonomy tomorrow.
Avatar says its machines have helped pack, sort and ship more than 900,000 products since December 2025. Its eventual goal is for one worker to supervise an entire fleet rather than continuously control one robot.
Zoox turns on the meter
Zoox is moving from free demonstrations to paid robotaxi rides in Las Vegas.
Amazon’s autonomous-vehicle company says this will be the first paid US service using a purpose-built robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals.
Unlike operators that modify conventional cars, Zoox designed its bidirectional passenger pod from scratch.
Now it’s actually becoming a real business.
A robot gearbox changes hands
GAM Enterprises has acquired the technology behind Schaeffler’s PSC precision gear reducers. These components convert motor speed into the controlled torque required for precise robotic movement.
GAM is creating a new German company, GAM-Melior, to manufacture and develop the product line.
Terms were not disclosed.
Number of the day: $21 million
That is approximately how much DeepSeek is investing in Unitree.
The purchase equals about 2.31% of the shares issued in the IPO, but will only be around 0.23% of Unitree’s total post-IPO share capital.
So it’s a small ownership stake … but potentially a very important alliance.
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I tell stories with data and build startups. I've raised angel and VC funds, led software companies and startups, and chronicled the rise of the mobile economy. Currently I write for Forbes, host several podcasts, and am starting up HumanoidMegaHub. I was TUNE's mobile economist and Singular's VP of Insights, built the research team at VentureBeat, and managed teams creating software for partners like Intel and Disney. In past lives I built websites, e-learning platforms, and mobile apps, and, a long time ago, was named to Folio's top 100 of the media industry's "most innovative entrepreneurs and market shaker-uppers.”