Thank you for this! Came across this after reading Breakneck and its further justification for Dan's point on the importance of embracing process knowledge. Would be keen to learn how China is utilising its manufacturing edge to lead in the Embodied AI space!
The KUKA acquisition shows how Midea was thinking way beyond just owning a German brand name. They were after the tacit knowledge embeded in KUKA's integration workflows and process engineering, which you can't just license or reverse engineer. What's compelling is how that €4.5 billion bet has paid off with 40% of KUKA revenue now flowing from China by 2027, turning what looked like a defensive move into an offensive platform for deploymnt at scale. This is exactly the kind of strategic patience that MIC 2025 enabled.
I took full 2 days to read this, referred few martials. i was fascinated by the numbers about MIC and policy maker's vision. you earned a fan!
Thank you for this! Came across this after reading Breakneck and its further justification for Dan's point on the importance of embracing process knowledge. Would be keen to learn how China is utilising its manufacturing edge to lead in the Embodied AI space!
This is very well written. Tons to process.
Thank you for this. A great read that truly highlights China’s strategic advantage, not just in robotics but its entire ecosystem
Patriotism aside, anyone who doesn’t see that China is kicking the USA’s ass has their head in the sand,
Very interesting article! For anyone interested in robotics, I shared a take last week on the “ChatGPT moment” now unfolding in the physical world.
The Brain Unlock: Why Robotics Is About to Have Its ChatGPT Moment
https://alphawavess.substack.com/p/the-brain-unlock-why-robotics-is?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
For 60+ years, robotics was treated as a hardware problem. The assumption: pile enough actuators on a body, and intelligence will emerge. It didn't.
Last week, at CES 2026, Jensen Huang was clear: The bottleneck wasn't the machine. It was the brain.
The KUKA acquisition shows how Midea was thinking way beyond just owning a German brand name. They were after the tacit knowledge embeded in KUKA's integration workflows and process engineering, which you can't just license or reverse engineer. What's compelling is how that €4.5 billion bet has paid off with 40% of KUKA revenue now flowing from China by 2027, turning what looked like a defensive move into an offensive platform for deploymnt at scale. This is exactly the kind of strategic patience that MIC 2025 enabled.
Fantastic article.
Just one note: the Rhodium Group link doesn't work