Every once in a while there are videos about robots, sometimes given the male dominated engineers are robots that look like potential girlfriends, but the real money in robots is made in the manufacturing sector. Robots to do the work than humans could do but they require the use of brawn, or the use of heavy lifting, and robots can work 24 hours a day as they are properly maintained. The world leader in many robots is China.

In an article by Meaghan Tobin and Xinyun Wu of New York Times News Service, in China robots are doing many of the things people can do including dancing, running and boxing. The technology is amazing, but with over 150 manufacturers, where are the sales? and the Chinese government is warning the industry was at risk for a crowd of highly repetitive products.

China gained an early global lead in manufacturing robots. China is using more robots than the rest of the world combined. In China they installed 300,000 new robots versus the US 34,000 last year.

Public and private investors have spent more than $5 billion on startups making humanoid robots.

Chinese robots makers have significant advantages: they can draw on the world’s strongest manufacturing sector and the backing of multiple levels of government. They are getting better at making parts such as motors and specialized screws in robot joints.

What Chinese robot startups have not been able to do is make humanoid robots that could transform the economy. The robots have been programmed to follow patterns, but terrible when chaos or unpredictable events happen.

Unitree Robotics is planning to do an IPO to help it becoming the leading manufacturer of humanoid robots. The price in China is US$ 6,000. The leading player in the US is Boston Dynamics and its robots are price much higher. In 2020, Hyundai Motor Co bought Boston Dynamics.

Deep Robotics raised US$70 million in its latest round of financing. The investors included: the venture capital arm of Geely, an electric automaker, and the Beijing city government’s dedicated investment fund for robotics and artificial intelligence.

Linking to dividend paying companies, technology can be wonderful and exciting, but for more cautious investors there needs to be sales. Which come first – investors or sales? With your dividends you can watch the industry see who leads the group and when things begin to shake out, snap up shares at good prices. The watching and analyzing takes homework, but without profits you want to limit the risk. Examine the early adaptors and how are they using the technology to make life better or easier for themselves. You will gain an idea of which companies are addressing the issues and solving the problems. Patience is the key and with dividends you can have patience.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.