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| Matrix Robotics | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Full name | Shanghai Matrix Superintelligent System Integration Co., Ltd. |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Founder | Zhang Haixing (CEO) |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
| Industry | Robotics, Embodied AI, Physical AI |
| Products | Humanoid robots |
| Joint venture | Star Dynamics Technology (with Hongrun Construction Group) |
| Website | matrixrobotics.ai |
Matrix Robotics (formally Shanghai Matrix Superintelligent System Integration Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese robotics company headquartered in Shanghai that designs and develops humanoid robots with advanced physical artificial intelligence capabilities. Founded in 2024 by Zhang Haixing, the former founding leader of Tesla China's Design and Research Center, the company has gained attention for its distinctive approach to humanoid robot design, emphasizing lifelike appearance, biomimetic skin technology, and zero-shot task generalization.[1][2]
Matrix Robotics is also a 40% stakeholder in Star Dynamics Technology Co., Ltd., a joint venture with Hongrun Construction Group that was established in September 2025 to accelerate the mass production and commercialization of humanoid robots. The company's product line spans from the MATRIX-1 first-generation platform to the MATRIX-3 third-generation flagship, with mass production targeted for the second half of 2026.[2][3]
Matrix Robotics was founded in 2024 in Shanghai by Zhang Haixing. Before founding the company, Zhang served as the founding leader of Tesla's China Design and Research Center, where he contributed to the development of the Tesla Optimus humanoid robot, the autonomous robotaxi program, electric vehicle design, and smart charging infrastructure. Zhang brings more than 20 years of experience in product research and development, design, and technology entrepreneurship across consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and artificial intelligence.[2][3]
Zhang holds over 100 patents and has received several international design awards, including the German Red Dot Award, Japan's Good Design Award, and the CES Innovation Award. According to the company, he applied lessons from Tesla's approach to dexterous hand engineering and humanoid robot body design to his work at Matrix Robotics.[2]
In late 2024, Matrix Robotics introduced the MATRIX-1, its first-generation humanoid robot. The MATRIX-1 attracted attention for its distinctive appearance, which eschewed the typical exposed-joint industrial aesthetic of most humanoid robots in favor of a soft, rounded form that was described as looking closer to an actual person. The robot's entire body appeared to be wrapped in a layer of soft, skin-like material, making it one of the more human-looking Chinese humanoid robots at the time of its unveiling.[1][4]
On September 19, 2025, Star Dynamics Technology Co., Ltd. was formally established as a joint venture between Hongrun Construction Group (holding 60% equity) and Matrix Super Intelligence (holding 40%). The agreement had been signed earlier in September, with both parties committing to jointly develop humanoid robots for commercial applications.[3]
Star Dynamics subsequently unveiled its first humanoid robot, the Star Dynamics No. 1 (also referred to as Star-1), which featured a golden coating similar to Tesla's Optimus version 2.5. Zhang Haixing announced that the Star-1 would enter mass production in 2026, with the price expected to reach a level affordable for the general public within two to three years.[3]
In early 2026, Matrix Robotics unveiled the MATRIX-3, its third-generation flagship humanoid robot. The MATRIX-3 represented a significant design evolution from the MATRIX-1, featuring a more compact form factor and eliminating the protruding rear section of the earlier model. The company opened an Early Access Program for the MATRIX-3 to select industry partners, with initial pilot deployments expected to begin in mid-2026.[5][6]
The MATRIX-1 is Matrix Robotics' first-generation humanoid robot, introduced in late 2024. It was designed to mirror human proportions and features a soft, biomimetic exterior.
| Specification | MATRIX-1 |
|---|---|
| Height | 180 cm |
| Weight | 67 kg |
| Total DOF | 55 |
| Hand DOF | 22 (dexterous hand) |
| Walking speed | Up to 7.6 km/h |
| Operating time | ~5 hours per charge |
| Arm payload | ~10 kg per arm |
| Target applications | Logistics, manufacturing, workplace patrolling, home assistance |
The MATRIX-1 emphasizes practical, responsibility-oriented applications. Its 55 degrees of freedom across the full body and 22-DOF dexterous hand provide it with fine motor control capabilities for manipulation tasks. The robot is designed for integration into existing human work environments, with applications spanning logistics, manufacturing, and service roles.[1][4]
The MATRIX-3 is Matrix Robotics' third-generation flagship humanoid robot, unveiled in early 2026. It represents a fundamental redesign aimed at achieving general-purpose physical intelligence in unstructured, real-world environments.[5][6]
The MATRIX-3's chassis is covered in a pioneering three-dimensional flexible fabric that provides a soft, approachable aesthetic while embedding a distributed sensing network beneath the surface. This biomimetic skin cushions contact and detects impact force in real time, enabling the robot to perceive and respond to physical interaction with its environment. High-dimensional tactile sensing is deeply integrated into the skin layer.[5][6]
The MATRIX-3 features a newly developed 27-degree-of-freedom dexterous hand that closely mirrors human hand anatomy. It uses lightweight, cable-driven actuation to achieve fast, precise motion. The fingertips integrate a high-sensitivity tactile sensor array capable of detecting pressures as low as 0.1 N (newtons). A visual-tactile feedback loop enables the robot to assess material properties and grip stability in real time, allowing it to handle fragile, deformable, and flexible objects.[5][6]
Full-body mobility is powered by a general motion control model trained on extensive human motion-capture datasets. The robot generates a natural humanoid gait using integrated linear actuators that provide high power density with low noise.[5]
The MATRIX-3 is powered by a proprietary neural network architecture developed by Matrix Super Intelligence. This architecture enables zero-shot generalization, meaning the robot can understand basic physical principles and execute new tasks from natural-language instructions without task-specific training. The system supports autonomous grasp planning with real-time force adjustment.[5][6]
The Star-1 is a humanoid robot developed through the Star Dynamics joint venture. It stands out among Chinese humanoid robots for its lifelike appearance, with no exposed cables or joints visible. The robot features a golden coating and focuses on natural language communication rather than requiring complex programmed instructions. Zhang Haixing has emphasized that Star Dynamics' humanoid robot architecture reduces core control code from hundreds of thousands of lines to fewer than 3,000, simplifying deployment and maintenance.[3]
Matrix Robotics describes its technical philosophy as "integrating machine intelligence into human physical spaces as naturally and safely as possible." The company's approach centers on Physical AI, where robots learn to interact with the physical world through perception, reasoning, and adaptive behavior rather than pre-programmed routines.[5][6]
Zhang Haixing has stated that mass production of humanoid robots requires hardware that is "easy to produce, maintain, and optimize for different scenarios." This manufacturing-oriented design philosophy reflects Zhang's experience at Tesla, where systematic engineering capabilities and industrial collaboration speed are viewed as competitive differentiators. The company benchmarks against North American competitors including Figure, Tesla Optimus, and 1X Technologies.[3]
The distributed sensing network embedded in the MATRIX-3's flexible skin, combined with the high-sensitivity tactile arrays in its fingertips, creates a comprehensive tactile perception system. This system enables the robot to detect both deliberate interactions and unintended contact, improving safety and manipulation precision in environments shared with humans.[5][6]
Matrix Robotics plans to invest in a benchmark production line for physical intelligent robots, with large-scale manufacturing of the MATRIX-3 expected in the second half of 2026. The Star Dynamics joint venture provides additional manufacturing capacity and capital through Hongrun Construction Group's industrial infrastructure. Zhang has stated that the single-unit price of the company's robots will be brought to an affordable level for public consumers within two to three years.[3][5]