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Not long ago, at the 2025 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference held in Nanjing, three mechanical arms of Estun were spinning at high speed around glass cups like agile dancers, but not a single drop of wine spilled from the cups. The robot of Duolun Technology is like a capable “traffic commander”, closely interacting with the traffic lights at intersections in real time to precisely direct traffic. The “dexterous hands” of Zhongke Siji hold the silk thread and precisely pass through the needle holes of the embroidery needle – these are not scenes from science fiction movies, but the “daily performances” of Nanjing’s robot industry.
That’s right! This is the “scene answer sheet” collectively submitted by the Nanjing robot “family” in 2025. From January to October this year, the revenue of Nanjing’s core robot industry increased by 21.5% year-on-year, and it is expected that the year-on-year growth for the whole year will exceed 20%. The output of industrial robots exceeded 40,000 units, with a year-on-year growth of over 30%. Behind the bright data lies the transformation of Nanjing’s robot industry from technological breakthroughs to ecological prosperity.
01 System Foundation Building: From “Single-point Breakthrough” to “System Victory”
The rise of Nanjing’s robot industry began with the in-depth development of a group of leading enterprises and was achieved through the coordinated layout of the entire chain.
Leading enterprise Estun has continuously maintained the top position in terms of shipment volume in China’s industrial robot market, promoting the increase of domestic production rate in China’s industrial robot market and supporting domestic manufacturers to expand their market share to 56.2%. Not only is it moving towards the goal of “double 10 billion” (with its own revenue and the industrial chain ecosystem each reaching 10 billion), but it is also playing the role of a “pioneer” in the breakthrough of the “1+4+6” promotion system for making Nanjing a strong industrial city, promoting the collaboration between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.
Another giant, Inovance Technology, has officially signed the contract for the second phase of its Nanjing base. In the future, the Nanjing base will become the company’s headquarters for the production and research and development of robots and precision components. By now, Estun and Inovance Technology, which rank first and third respectively in the national industrial robot market share, will jointly form a “dual-core engine”, providing a strong driving force for the development of the robot industry in Nanjing.
It is encouraging that more “domestic alternatives” are labeled as “Made in Nanjing”. Daoda Intelligent spent 8 years developing the first 5.3-meter/second high-speed overhead crane system (wafer transportation robot) in China, breaking the international monopoly and reducing costs by 40%. The core technology of Tuodao Medical’s surgical robots surpasses that of overseas giants, and its newly installed capacity ranks among the top two in the country. The Inks joint module serves as the “heart of movement” for 60% of the robots participating in the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games. Tianchuang Robotics’ “Tiankui No.1”, the world’s first explosion-proof humanoid robot, and other inspection robots have the highest cumulative shipment volume globally. Alpha robot Dog, the only quadruped robot in China that achieves five-layer motion control, is sold first in the global consumer market……
Unlike some cities that focus on a single field, Nanjing’s robot industry has established a full-chain system of “complete machines + key components + integrated applications”, gathering over 200 robot-related enterprises. In the humanoid robot sector, while companies like Estun Coolzhuo and Yijiahe have launched complete machine products, leading enterprises such as Process Equipment, Inks, and Zhongke Siji have also emerged in key component fields like lead screws, key modules, and dexterous hands. In addition, the ABB Drive Products Super Factory project and the Luming Robot East China Production and R&D Headquarters project have been successively implemented, which will continuously enhance the full-chain development advantages of the robot industry chain in Nanjing.
If key component enterprises are responsible for “strengthening the muscles and bones”, AI technology is the “intelligent brain”. The deep integration of artificial intelligence and robot technology is the key to shaping the next generation of intelligent robots.
Nanjing is the first “China Software City” in the country. Its software and information industry has unique advantages. Coupled with the successive establishment of the Nanjing Artificial Intelligence Ecological Street and the AI Space-Time International Community this year, it will continuously inject “soft power” into the high-quality development of the robot industry.
The system layout that combines software and hardware enables Nanjing to seize the initiative in the wave of embodied intelligence. The “Action Plan for the Development of Embodied Intelligent Robot Industry in Nanjing (2025-2027)” clearly states that within three years, it aims to cultivate more than five enterprises with mass production of complete machines, attract and cultivate 150 enterprises along the industrial chain, and form 50 large-scale applications, demonstrating the ambition to move from “technology following” to “standard setting”.
02 Ecological Energy Gathering: A “Mutual Pursuit” between the Government and the Market
If the full-chain layout is the “hard framework” of Nanjing’s robot industry, then the harmonious resonance between the government and the market has injected vivid “vitality” into this framework. Nanjing has built a “rainforest ecosystem” guided by the government and dominated by the market.
In March this year, Nanjing City established a robot industry breakthrough office, providing a closed-loop service chain of “policy supply – enterprise cultivation – project attraction – scenario creation – technology transfer” to break through the “last mile” of policy implementation. From January to October, among the 21 projects that were attracted and included in the database, the proportion of projects with an investment of over 100 million yuan exceeded 50%. More than 20 “Ning Gong Pin Tui” supply and demand matching events have facilitated full-chain cooperation. The construction of innovative carriers such as robot ecological streets and humanoid robot shared factories has been initiated, providing fertile ground for industrial development.
Deeper ecological integration occurs among “industry, academia, research and application”. Strong scientific and educational resources are Nanjing’s advantageous endowments. How can they be transformed into industrial driving forces?
Nanjing’s answer is: Strengthen the transformation of research results and remove the bottlenecks between “research” and “production”. At present, the Municipal Office for the breakthrough of the robot industry has fully covered and connected with 20 key universities and research institutions in the field of robots, collected over 130 achievements, and is tracking 27 provincial-level or above research and development projects.
As one of the earliest institutions in China to engage in robot technology research, the Institute of Robot Sensing and Control Technology at Southeast University has been deeply involved in the field of robot sensing and control technology for over three decades. Its core research directions cover remote operation of space robots, force-tactile human-robot interaction, medical rehabilitation robots, etc. The team has been deeply cooperating with enterprises such as Nanjing Estun, Yijiahe, and Tianchuang. The cooperation areas cover special robots for power inspection, medical rehabilitation robots, heavy-duty industrial robots, human-machine interaction technology, etc. The cooperation methods include technology transfer, project cooperation, and incubation of new research and development institutions. Professor Song Aiguo, director of the Institute of Robot Sensing and Control Technology at the School of Instrument Science and Engineering of Southeast University, told the reporter. In Nanjing, university teachers put forward cutting-edge ideas, and research institute teams collaborate with enterprises to develop them, creating a “1+1>2” multiplier effect and accelerating the industrialization process of scientific research achievements.
“Our R&D, production and marketing are closely integrated, with innovation driven by practical applications.” ” Xiong Zixin, a software engineer from Zhongke Siji, said. Zhongke Siji originated from the scientific research team of the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Casia Hand dexterous hand developed by it is the only series of products covering multiple application scenarios in the world. The rapid development of the company is a microcosm of Nanjing’s transformation of the “peak of scientific research” in national-level laboratories into an “industrial plateau”.
03 Scene Breakthrough: From “Laboratory” to “Life Field”
The vitality of the robot industry lies in its transition from the laboratory to the living field. On the Scottish Premier League pitch, it is a “wise and willing” guide with enthusiasm. In the Niu Shou Mountain Scenic Area, it is a “beautician” that quietly cleans up. At Nanjing South Railway Station, it is a “good helper” in solving the charging problem – robots are integrating into the daily life of Nanjing in various forms.
Nanjing’s scene innovation has always been closely focused on the “essential needs of people’s livelihood”. In Qiqiaoweng Wetland Park, multimodal robots provide full-chain services including guidance, security and maintenance. At the Nanjing Medical Insurance Center, the smart medical insurance service robot has handled over 76,700 medical insurance transactions in total. “Before, you had to look for charging stations everywhere. Now, the charging machine can find it by itself. It’s so convenient!” ” At Nanjing South Railway Station, Ms. Li, a car owner who had just experienced the intelligent charging service, kept expressing her feelings.
These scene innovations are not accidental but are based on Nanjing’s profound understanding of the “existing capabilities – application directions – scene demands” of robots, as well as the precise efforts of the two-way matching mechanism of nearly 80 “capability lists” and 600 “demand opportunity lists” for robots.
Enterprises feel this the most deeply. “The Municipal robot Industry Breakthrough office not only helps us connect with policies, but more importantly, it opens up application scenarios.” ” Dr. Cheng Min, the chairman of Tuodao Medical, expressed his feelings, saying that this has enabled domestic surgical robots to quickly enter major hospitals in Nanjing, collect clinical feedback, and accelerate product optimization.
04 Face Challenges Head-on: Stay clear-headed and Composed in the “Trend”
As more and more robots move from production lines into daily life, Nanjing is setting its sights on a more distant future.
The “Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development” clearly states that efforts should be made to promote embodied intelligence and other aspects to become new growth points of the economy.
Facing a new round of “trend”, the robot industry in Nanjing has set its sights on deeper levels and broader fields. The collaboration between Yijiahe and Malande Medical aims at the cutting-edge cross-disciplinary field of “brain-computer interface + embodied intelligence”. Estun took the lead in establishing the Jiangsu Province Innovation Center for Body-Type Intelligent Robots, and Tianchuang Robotics was approved to build the Jiangsu Province Data Collection and Training Center for Body-type Intelligent Special Robots, fully promoting the in-depth integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation in the field of robots.
The Jiangsu Province Body-Intelligent Robot Innovation Center, which was just completed last month, has opened our infrastructure to various institutions throughout the province and even the country, enabling the sharing of common technologies. It is hoped that in this future largest main channel, the upstream, midstream and downstream industrial chains within the province can be cultivated. Li Yuanping, the general manager of Nanjing Estun Coolzhuo Technology Co., Ltd. and an advisor expert of Jiangsu Dinghui Embodied Intelligent Robot Innovation Center, introduced, “At present, the embodied intelligent training ground has been initially completed and put into use.” The next step will be to promote the construction of the pilot verification platform and inspection and testing platform of the innovation center, and accelerate the commercialization of embodied intelligence.
Of course, the development of the robot industry in Nanjing still faces some practical problems, such as the need to break through the “bottleneck” links like core chips and high-end sensors, and the urgent need to solve the shortage of related talents. In this regard, at the policy level, Nanjing has included the research and development of core components for robots in the municipal science and technology special projects, promoting technological breakthroughs through special support. At the enterprise level, Estun is collaborating with universities to continuously tackle key technical bottlenecks such as chip computing power and intelligent perception. In terms of talent, Nanjing has been continuously strengthening its talent guarantee. This year, it has already attracted a group of leading talents through a special talent introduction mechanism.
The path of industrial development is never a 100-meter sprint achieved overnight, but a long-distance race that tests one’s determination and wisdom. From the research laboratories at the foot of Zijin Mountain to the intelligent manufacturing factories along the Yangtze River, Nanjing’s “science and education genes” and “industrial resilience” blend here. In the future, this “city of Intelligent Manufacturing” is bound to carve out a more brilliant course in the blue ocean of the robot industry.
