Nvidia to Work with US, European Humanoid Robot Makers in Addition to China’s Unitree

Nvidia will expand its robotics efforts beyond China’s Unitree, collaborating with humanoid robot makers in the US, Europe, and South Korea to develop standardized robots for academic researchers. The company revealed plans during CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote at Computex in Taiwan, confirming a partnership with Unitree to produce a modified version of its H2 robot, combining Unitree’s body, Sharpa’s hands (a Singapore-based firm), and Nvidia’s Blackwell chips for computing. The new robots will incorporate Nvidia’s cybersecurity measures, including secure boot and confidential computing, to prevent malicious code execution and unauthorized data transfer. Researchers at Stanford University and the University of California San Diego are among those expected to use the devices. Nvidia also plans to integrate these security features into its own research robots. Despite the collaboration, US lawmakers have accused Unitree of having ties to the Chinese government and military, introducing legislation to ban its robots for researchers receiving US government funding. Unitree, known for its viral dancing robots featured in China’s Spring Festival gala, is pursuing a public listing in China. Nvidia executives confirmed the new partnerships are still under wraps but emphasized the focus on security. The Blackwell chips will act as a gateway for software updates, verifying authenticity before deployment. This approach mirrors Nvidia’s data center security protocols, ensuring researchers can trust the integrity of their robotic systems.