Business Brief (April 27): China’s State Grid to Invest Nearly $1 Billion in AI Robots

Published: Apr. 27, 2026 6:07 p.m. GMT+8

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State Grid Corp. of China plans to invest 6.8 billion yuan ($994.7 million) this year to procure about 8,500 AI-powered robots, transitioning from manual to autonomous power grid maintenance. The robots will be used for power inspections, live-line work, emergency rescue and warehousing, with suppliers including Deep Robotics, Unitree Robotics, Agibot, UBTECH Robotics and Fourier Intelligence.

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State Grid Corp. of China to invest 6.8B yuan ($994.7M) for 8,500 AI robots for grid maintenance from suppliers like Deep Robotics, Unitree.
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...: {"chinese":"国家电网公司计划今年投资68亿元采购约8500台AI机器人，用于电网巡检、带电作业等。","english":"State Grid Corp. of China plans to invest 6.8 billion yuan ($994.7 million) this year to procure about 8,500 AI-powered robots for power inspections, live-line work, emergency rescue and warehousing."}

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