Nvidia is exploring options beyond China’s Unitree for its development of humanoid robots.

      The inaugural robot in Nvidia's new research initiative features collaborations from three regions. The body is sourced from China's Unitree, the hands come from Sharpa, based in Singapore, while the computing core is supplied by Nvidia. After Jensen Huang's keynote address in Taipei on Monday, prior to the Computex trade show, the company announced its intention to engage with humanoid manufacturers in the United States, Europe, and South Korea. The robot unveiled this week is a standardized model of Unitree’s H2 robot, designed as a reference platform for academic researchers. This initiative aims to provide laboratories with a uniform piece of hardware to work with, instead of each one constructing or purchasing different machines.

      Researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, San Diego, are among those who plan to utilize the robot, alongside Ai2 in Seattle, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, the Stanford Robotics Center, and UC San Diego’s Advanced Robotics and Controls Laboratory. Sales, mainly targeting research institutions, are expected to commence later this year.

      This robot operates on Nvidia’s Isaac GR00T platform, which consists of the software and reference hardware stack the company has been developing for humanoid technology. This platform serves as the connective framework for these partnerships, rather than relying on a specific chassis.

      Nvidia executives informed Reuters that the company aims to establish more partnerships similar to the one with Unitree and is looking to collaborate with robotics firms outside of China. However, they did not disclose the potential partners in the U.S., South Korea, and Europe, citing the confidentiality of the plans. This aspect of the announcement should be regarded with caution, as the intention to collaborate with unnamed companies across three regions signifies a direction rather than an established agreement.

      The timing is noteworthy, as the announcement of the Unitree robot coincides with the company’s move towards a public listing, following its achievement of outselling competitors, including Tesla, in humanoid units last year. Unitree has emerged as a leading name within a Chinese sector that accounted for approximately 90 percent of the world’s humanoid robots shipped in 2025, making it both a strategic and somewhat uncomfortable partner for Nvidia. The firm delivered more humanoid units last year than any other competitor, including Tesla, and is preparing for a public listing in Shanghai alongside fellow company AgiBot.

      This underlying tension reflects the broader strategy. Nvidia's proposition is that it offers the intelligence, regardless of the physical design, and engaging with partners from the U.S., Europe, and South Korea in addition to Unitree diversifies its investments across geopolitical regions, rather than being concentrated in China.

      For a company whose chips are already intertwined with export-control issues, a robotics strategy that isn't reliant on a single country holds significant appeal.

      At this point, the tangible outcome is one research robot featuring a Chinese body, Singaporean hands, and a Nvidia brain, which will be distributed to a list of specified universities later this year. The remainder represents a plan shared with a news agency by anonymous sources.