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| Developer | Leju Robot |
| Type | Humanoid robot |
| Generation | 5th (Kuavo series) |
| Unveiled | November 18, 2025 |
| Height | 168 cm (adjustable) |
| Weight | 55 kg |
| Degrees of Freedom | 40 |
| Battery Life | 8+ hours |
| Walking Speed | 4.6 km/h (1.28 m/s) omnidirectional |
| Payload | 20 kg total; 10 kg per arm |
| Locomotion | Bipedal + wheeled (Kuavo-5W variant) |
| OS | KaihongOS (OpenHarmony-based) |
| Actuators | Self-developed high-torque electric joints |
| Price | ~$38,000 USD (estimated) |
Kuavo-5 is the fifth-generation humanoid robot in the Kuavo series developed by Leju Robot (officially Leju Intelligence (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.), a Chinese robotics company headquartered in Shenzhen. Unveiled on November 18, 2025, the Kuavo-5 is a modular humanoid designed for deployment in both industrial manufacturing and home service environments. Its defining feature is a dual-locomotion system that allows the robot to switch between bipedal walking and wheeled movement, with a dedicated wheeled variant designated the Kuavo-5W.
The Kuavo-5 represents Leju Robot's push toward the industrialization of humanoid robots, following the company's $207 million pre-IPO funding round in October 2025 and its milestone of delivering over 100 full-size humanoid robots earlier that year. The robot features interchangeable hands and limbs, self-developed joints with up to 360 N.m peak torque, and integration with Huawei's KaihongOS operating system and Pangu large language model for embodied intelligence.
Leju Robot was founded in 2016 by Leng Xiaokun, a PhD graduate of the Harbin Institute of Technology. The founding team originated from the university's Intelligent Robotics Research Center, where Leng serves as associate director. The company was initially established in October 2015 in Harbin with approximately 2 million yuan in personal investment from the founders and 30,000 yuan in university subsidies, before formally incorporating in Shenzhen in 2016. Leju maintains branch offices in Harbin and Hangzhou.
The company's core technology includes proprietary torque servos and self-stabilizing biped gait algorithms. Over 90% of the Kuavo series components are domestically produced in China. Leju positions itself as a "leader in the industrialization of humanoid robots," focusing on bridging the gap between research prototypes and commercially viable humanoid platforms.
In early 2026, Leju Robot rebranded as Leju Intelligence (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., signaling a strategic shift from a pure robotics company to a broader intelligent-technology enterprise ahead of a planned initial public offering.
Leju Robot has raised substantial funding since its founding, culminating in a major pre-IPO round in 2025.
| Round | Date | Amount | Notable Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angel | 2016 | 10 million RMB | Songhe Capital |
| Pre-A | 2017 | Tens of millions RMB | Shenzhen Capital Group |
| Strategic | 2017 | 50 million RMB | Tencent |
| Pre-IPO | October 2025 | 1.5 billion RMB (~$207 million) | Greenwoods Asset Management, Shenzhen Investment Holdings Capital, Shenzhen Longhua Capital, Qianhai Foundation Investment, Oriental Precision, CITIC Jingshi, Dongfang Precision Science & Technology, Tuopu Group, China-US Green Fund |
The October 2025 pre-IPO round was led by Beijing-based Greenwoods Asset Management and earmarked for mass production and technological advancement of the Kuavo humanoid robot line. The round valued the company at an undisclosed figure, though it placed Leju among the most well-funded humanoid robotics startups in China. The company counts Tencent Holdings and the state-owned Shenzhen Capital Group among its early backers. Leju also maintains partnerships with Huawei Cloud, Haier, and China Mobile.[1][2][3]
Before the Kuavo series, Leju Robot developed several earlier product lines that established its reputation in robotics.
AELOS Series (2016): Leju's first product, the AELOS educational humanoid robot, launched in August 2016 and entered mass production. Standing 34.6 cm tall and weighing 1.8 kg, the AELOS featured 16 human-like joints and supported dancing, yoga, jumping, gymnastics, voice interaction, and smartphone remote control. The AELOS gained international attention in February 2018 when it appeared during the "Beijing 8 Minutes" segment at the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, showcasing Chinese technological capabilities to a global audience.[4]
PANDO Series (2018): A palm-sized, panda-shaped coding toy robot introduced in 2018. PANDO could roll, bow, and respond to voice commands, targeting younger audiences and introductory programming education.
Other Products: Leju also developed the ROBAN medium bipedal robot, the Fluvo series of hospital logistics robots, the CUBE smart building block kit, and the Clamber Man heavy-duty transport robot.
The Kuavo (also romanized as "Kuafu," referencing a giant from Chinese mythology) series represents Leju's full-size humanoid robot platform. The original Kuavo was officially unveiled in December 2023 as a high-dynamic humanoid robot featuring a robust structure, dynamic mobility, dexterous hands, and an intelligent system capable of precise perception and autonomous task planning.
Leju introduced the Kuavo publicly at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai in March 2024. The robot also debuted at Huawei's HDC 2024 developer conference in June 2024, where it was presented as the first humanoid robot to run on Huawei's HarmonyOS platform. Iterative versions included the Kuavo 3.0, which specified 360 N.m peak torque joints and 4.6 km/h omnidirectional walking.
The Kuavo-MY ("MY" standing for "Make Yours") was released as a smaller, more affordable open platform variant targeting researchers, educators, and developers. Standing approximately 1,470 mm tall and weighing 45 kg, the Kuavo-MY features 26 degrees of freedom and is priced at around $50,000.
The Kuavo-5 builds on this lineage as the most industrially focused model, incorporating modular design principles, dual locomotion, and extended battery life for sustained commercial operation.[5][6]
The Kuavo-5 stands approximately 168 cm tall, with an adjustable body height, and weighs 55 kg. The frame is constructed from aluminum alloy with composite panels, designed to balance structural rigidity with weight efficiency for sustained bipedal locomotion. The robot's proportions approximate those of an average adult human, allowing it to operate in spaces designed for people.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Height | 168 cm (adjustable) |
| Weight | 55 kg |
| Total degrees of freedom | 40 |
| DOF per hand | 10 |
| Fingers per hand | 5 |
| Total payload capacity | 20 kg (44 lb) |
| Dual-arm payload | 10 kg (22 lb) |
| Peak joint torque | 360 N.m |
| Rated joint speed | 150 rpm |
| Maximum walking speed | 4.6 km/h (2.86 mph) omnidirectional |
| Locomotion modes | Bipedal walking + wheeled (Kuavo-5W) |
| Terrain capability | Sand, grass, obstacles, factory floors |
| Battery life | 8+ hours continuous operation |
| Operating system | KaihongOS (OpenHarmony-based) |
| AI integration | Huawei Pangu model |
| Sensors | Depth cameras, IMU, force/torque sensors |
| Connectivity | 5G-A, Wi-Fi (2.4/5 GHz), Ethernet, USB 3.0, HDMI |
| Actuators | Self-developed high-torque electric joints with precision reducers |
| Control latency | 200 ms |
| Body rotation | Full rotational capability |
The Kuavo-5's most distinctive engineering feature is its ability to switch between two locomotion modes. In bipedal mode, the robot walks on two legs with omnidirectional capability at up to 4.6 km/h, navigating uneven terrain including sand, grass, and obstacles. The Kuavo-5W wheeled variant replaces the lower leg segments with a wheeled base, enabling faster, more energy-efficient movement on smooth surfaces such as factory floors, warehouses, and indoor residential spaces.
This dual approach addresses a practical challenge in humanoid deployment: bipedal walking offers versatility across varied terrain but consumes more energy and moves more slowly than wheeled locomotion on flat surfaces. By making the lower limbs modular, Leju allows operators to configure the robot for the environment it will primarily operate in, or to maintain both configurations for different shifts or tasks.[7]
The Kuavo-5's arms and hands are designed as interchangeable modules. Users can select from three primary end-effector configurations depending on the task:
| End Effector | DOF | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Five-fingered dexterous hand | 10 per hand | Fine manipulation, object handling, human-like interaction |
| Gripper | Varies | Industrial pick-and-place, heavy object handling |
| Claw attachment | Varies | Specialized gripping, logistics, material transport |
This modularity allows a single Kuavo-5 platform to serve multiple roles within a facility without requiring separate robot platforms for different tasks. Swapping end effectors can be performed by trained operators, reducing downtime between task reconfigurations.
The Kuavo-5 runs on KaihongOS, an operating system based on Huawei's OpenHarmony open-source platform. KaihongOS provides real-time control, AI processing, and multimodal sensor fusion capabilities. The integration with Huawei's ecosystem extends to the Pangu AI model, which provides embodied intelligence for adaptive behavior, task planning, and environmental understanding.
The software stack supports imitation learning for task adaptation, allowing the robot to learn new behaviors from human demonstrations rather than requiring explicit programming for every task. The platform also integrates with mainstream AI large language models, enabling natural language interaction for command interpretation and status reporting.
An open-source motion controller handles trajectory planning, feedback control, and state estimation, giving developers and integrators the ability to modify and extend the control stack for specialized applications.
The Kuavo-5 is equipped with depth cameras for 3D environment perception and obstacle detection. Additional sensors include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for balance and orientation, force/torque sensors at key joints for load monitoring and compliant manipulation, and joint encoders for precise position feedback. The sensor suite feeds into the onboard AI system for real-time environmental mapping and task execution.
Leju Robot targets industrial automation as a primary application for the Kuavo-5. The company demonstrated the robot performing tasks in what appeared to be an automotive assembly environment, including component handling, quality inspection, and logistics operations. In July 2024, an earlier Kuavo model was tested at NIO's electric vehicle factory in China and at Jiangsu Hengtong Group for tasks including vehicle assembly and quality control. These deployments validated the platform's capability in real manufacturing environments and informed the Kuavo-5's design requirements for payload capacity, battery endurance, and modular tooling.[8]
The Kuavo-5's demonstration video showcased the robot operating in a simulated home environment, performing tasks in a kitchen, living room, and laundry room. Leju envisions the robot assisting with domestic chores, elderly care, and general household tasks. The wheeled Kuavo-5W variant is particularly suited to home environments with smooth flooring, where wheeled locomotion offers superior efficiency and stability compared to bipedal walking.
Kuavo robots have been deployed in educational settings. In early 2025, footage circulated on social media showing a Kuavo humanoid teaching young children about artificial intelligence at a school in Mianyang, Sichuan province. The robot demonstrated real-time interaction capabilities, answering questions and guiding lessons. This educational deployment highlights the versatility of the Kuavo platform beyond industrial applications.[9]
On November 3, 2025, a Kuavo humanoid robot made history as the ceremonial "Zero Torchbearer" during the torch relay for China's 15th National Games. The relay was held simultaneously across Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Designated as the world's first humanoid robot torchbearer equipped with 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology, Kuavo gripped a 1.6-kilogram torch and completed approximately 100 meters of the relay in Shenzhen, executing a handover between the second and third legs of the relay.
The demonstration was made possible through collaboration between Leju Robot, China Mobile, Harbin Institute of Technology, and the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI). Leveraging 5G-A's low latency and high bandwidth, operators in a remote control room directed Kuavo's movements in real time using live video feedback from the relay site. The robot's running posture was described by observers as lifelike, steady, and natural.
The technical success relied on three key breakthroughs: dynamic motion control algorithms optimized for running with a load, load-bearing stability while carrying the torch, and real-time remote control via 5G-A connectivity. The demonstration served as a high-profile showcase of China's progress in embodied AI and humanoid robotics.[10][11]
In March 2024, Leju's Kuavo humanoid robot became one of the first batch of humanoid robots to pass the general ontology test and evaluation conducted by CTTL Terminal Labs, a testing division of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). The evaluation followed the "FG-Z18-0009-01 Humanoid Robot: General Ontology Test Scheme V1.0" standard and assessed the robot across 13 test dimensions in three aspects: ontology characteristics, motion control, and power consumption and battery life. Additional testing covered human-computer interaction, electromagnetic compatibility, environmental adaptability, and information security.[12]
On March 29, 2026, a fully automated production line for humanoid robots began operations in Foshan, Guangdong Province. The facility was jointly developed by Guangdong Dongfang Precision Science & Technology Co., Ltd. and Leju Robot. The production line is capable of assembling one humanoid robot approximately every 30 minutes, translating to an annual capacity of about 10,000 units.
The factory incorporates 24 digitalized precision assembly processes and 77 inspection checkpoints, improving efficiency by more than 50% compared to conventional manufacturing systems. A key feature of the facility is its flexibility: the production line can switch between different robot models without halting production. The initial lineup includes the Kuavo industrial humanoid robot.
This production line represents one of China's first mass-manufacturing facilities dedicated to humanoid robots, marking a transition from experimental prototypes to industrial-scale production.[13]
Leju Robot delivered its 100th full-size humanoid robot in 2025. In the first quarter of 2025, the company received 250 orders for Kuavo robots, surpassing its target for the first half of the year. Chairman Leng Xiaokun has stated the company's goal of bringing robots into every household, echoing the broader Chinese government initiative to develop humanoid robotics as a strategic industry.
The Kuavo-5 competes in an increasingly crowded Chinese humanoid robotics market. Chinese companies accounted for nearly 90% of global humanoid robot shipments in 2025, with Unitree Robotics and AgiBot leading the market.
| Company | Robot | Units Shipped (2025) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unitree Robotics | H1 / G1 | ~5,500 | Low cost, open ecosystem, consumer-oriented |
| AgiBot | A2 / X2 | ~5,100 | Industrial focus, NVIDIA partnership |
| UBTECH | Walker S | ~1,000 | Service robotics, NIO factory deployment |
| Leju Robot | Kuavo series | 150-500 | Modular design, Huawei ecosystem, dual locomotion |
| Figure AI | Figure 02 | Limited | Helix VLA, BMW deployment |
| Tesla | Optimus | Prototyping | Target price $20,000-$30,000 |
| Boston Dynamics | Atlas (electric) | Pre-commercial | 56 DOF, Hyundai backing |
Leju differentiates itself through its modular design philosophy and deep integration with Huawei's software ecosystem, including KaihongOS and the Pangu AI model. While Unitree and AgiBot have achieved higher shipment volumes, Leju's focus on industrial-grade payload capacity and switchable locomotion targets a different deployment niche. The company's $38,000 estimated price point for the Kuavo-5 positions it below research-grade platforms like the Kuavo-MY ($50,000) and significantly below international competitors such as Figure 02 (~$100,000 estimated).
The Chinese government has committed nearly $140 billion in investments for robotics and high-tech sectors, with humanoid robots explicitly prioritized as a strategic technology. This policy environment provides tailwinds for all Chinese humanoid companies, including Leju.[14][15]
The Kuavo series encompasses multiple models targeting different market segments.
| Feature | Kuavo-MY | Kuavo-5 | Kuavo-5W |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target market | Research, education | Industrial, home service | Industrial, logistics |
| Height | 1,470 mm | 1,680 mm (adjustable) | 1,680 mm (adjustable) |
| Weight | 45 kg | 55 kg | Not disclosed |
| Degrees of freedom | 26 (14 arms, 12 legs) | 40 | 40 (upper body) |
| Locomotion | Bipedal only | Bipedal | Wheeled |
| Max speed | 4.6 km/h | 4.6 km/h (walking) | Higher (wheeled) |
| Payload | 3 kg | 20 kg | 20 kg |
| Battery life | Not disclosed | 8+ hours | 8+ hours |
| End effectors | Fixed hands | Interchangeable | Interchangeable |
| Price | ~$50,000 | ~$38,000 | Not disclosed |
| Operating system | KaihongOS | KaihongOS | KaihongOS |
The XTRON Kuavo-MY is also available as a variant sold through distribution partners such as Foxtech Robotics. The XTRON version comes in two height options (1,500 mm and 1,660 mm) and weights (50 kg and 55 kg), with 30 degrees of freedom (an increase over the standard Kuavo-MY's 26 DOF), offering enhanced capability for advanced research applications.[16]