Chinese technology companies displayed humanoid robots and a flying car prototype during Web Summit’s Nov. 9 opening events in Lisbon, bringing their products to an international gathering as China seeks new markets.
Agibot’s robots danced and performed tai chi onstage, while electric vehicle maker Xpeng showed the prototype, AFP reported. The displays preceded the summit’s Nov. 10 start.
Web Summit founder Paddy Cosgrave said the conference program includes more than 50 speakers from China. He described a roster drawn from AI labs, robotics and quantum computing startups, car manufacturers and energy startups.
The conference is expected to draw at least 70,000 people from 164 countries. The attendance estimate also includes 10,000 startups and 1,500 investors.
Manus AI co-founder Tao Zhang is scheduled to demonstrate Manus 2.0, an AI agent capable of completing a sequence of tasks on its own. Other speakers include Unitree co-founder Li Chen, Agibot European president William Shi and Pony.ai co-founder Leo Haojun Wang. Xpeng co-founder Deli Zhao is also attending, AFP reported.
Galbot and Ubtech Robotics are expected to show humanoid robots later in the conference. According to AFP, thousands of robotaxis in China use Pony.ai systems, which have also reached Europe more recently.
AFP linked Chinese companies’ search for overseas markets to weak demand at home and national security restrictions limiting access to much of the U.S. market. European companies including Orange, Renault, Revolut and Siemens have shown interest in Chinese open-weight AI models, the news agency reported. Users can download those models without charge and modify them to a limited extent.
The Chinese presence was also the subject of EconoTimes’ earlier coverage of the delegation, which discussed the European Union’s pursuit of technology sovereignty.
Web Summit is scheduled to continue through Nov. 12.
