Shanghai Targets 8,000 Humanoid Robots in Factories by 2028

On October 27, 2026, Shanghai's municipal economic and information technology commission issued an action plan for next-generation smart manufacturing. The plan calls for 8,000 humanoid robots to be deployed in factories by 2028, alongside wider adoption of smart factories and artificial intelligence in manufacturing.

By 2028, the plan aims for all key manufacturing enterprises in the city to have smart factories and for AI to be widely applied across those factories. It also targets 500 advanced-level smart factories and more than 2,000 AI application scenarios in manufacturing. The plan calls for the industry producing new types of AI-enabled smart manufacturing equipment to exceed 200 billion yuan in scale.

What the targets signal

The humanoid robot target sits alongside broader goals for factory modernization and AI adoption. It sets a direction for deployment, but the stated target alone does not establish which production tasks the robots will perform or how extensively they will be used within individual factories.

For manufacturers and equipment suppliers, the practical impact will depend on how the targets translate into factory-level applications. Subsequent announcements may clarify where humanoid robots and other AI-enabled equipment will be used, and how progress toward the plan's goals will be measured.