In 2025, Robolock launched a vacuum cleaner with a robotic arm to keep socks and other obstacles out of the way.
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Beijing – Cleaning home robots are likely to become a real reality of affordability soon.
At least that’s what Quang Gang, president of Beijing-based robot vacuum cleaner company Robolock, has been strategizing for the next five years. According to IDC research, the company is the first among smart vacuum cleaners by global market share. Last week, revenues were reported to be surged by nearly 79% in the first half of this year. About half of the sales came from outside China.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Quan predicted that human-like robots will become part of many households by 2030 thanks to advances in generative artificial intelligence.
And before that, RoboLock expects the latest high-end cleaners with AI-powered robotic arms to be extremely cheap and allow mass markets to buy them.
“In the end, if we focus on the premium segment other than being the best robot vacuum cleaner company in the world, we have nothing,” Quan said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. He noted that robotic vacuums still lack a high home penetration rate.
China, the largest market for robot vacuum cleaners, has only 5.6% of penetration by value, while the second largest market, the US, has a penetration of 22%, according to Euromonitor estimates for 2025.
The competition in the Robot Vacuum + Robot Arm category was heated at the US Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, with RoboRock and at least two Chinese competitors releasing demos. The AI-powered arm removes obstacles from the cleaner path when rolling autonomously around the house.
So far, only Roborock has begun selling what is called the Saros Z70, but Amazon.com has a high price tag of around $2,600. This site displays 141 reviews and 4.6 ratings. RoboRock did not share any particular sales.
The initial reviews of the Saros Z70 from US tech sites like Mashable and Wired were not particularly impressed, considering the price, but I was hoping for a more competent version in the near future. Both recommended that consumers stick to the more traditional Roborock Saros 10R. It’s on sale for $1,600.
Jin Liu, senior analyst in small appliances at EuroMonitor International, said that robotics companies will need to develop products that “bridge mainstream price ranges to adopt to bridge cutting edge technology with mainstream price ranges.”
But even if prices go down, it’s just a small step towards helping out robots that can help with cooking and other household chores.
Vacuum Cleaner is “the only successful application [of robots] In the home so far, Jeff Bernstein (A3), president of the Society for Advances in Automation.
“What was made? [robot] Vacuums weren’t that expensive so it wasn’t that expensive,” he said. He said that for the same thing to happen for humanoids to enter the house, attractive quality is required for the price.
Humanoids like Chinese startup Unitree still cost tens of thousands of US dollars and don’t yet have a clear household use case.
Customs Navigation
Despite the large market ambitions, RoboRock said it would need to raise the Saros Z70 by $700 from the original $1,899 due to tariffs.
Quang said Roborock began working with suppliers in Vietnam late last year, where he said the company could meet all North American orders.
He said the company is considering global supply chain partnerships, but will not necessarily invest in building its own factory. Robolock’s plan for Hong Kong’s list is primarily to raise capital for international expansion, Quang said the company is also expanding beyond the vacuum.
Despite a 79% revenue surge from Roborock, the company has more than doubled its spending, mainly doubled its research and development, and has surged the company’s losses in the first half.
Quan said the company has hired nearly 100 AI professionals this year, and still employs them. He said many of the new recruits have international education or work experience.
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The company built a dedicated AI lab and laboratory in Shenzhen in Shanghai shortly after the establishment of RoboRock in 2014. Quan said there are many solutions and buying Nvidia chips is not the only option.
When it comes to improving and making robot arms equipped with AI cheaper, “the challenge is primarily in the algorithms and data,” he said. It’s not hardware.
Humanoid App
As AI becomes more important to domestic robots, Quan has an even bigger vision.
“If this robot in your home needs to be cleaned, you need to integrate the cleaning knowledge that RoboLock has accumulated over the years in its algorithms, models, data and training,” he said. “Then you can install it on the robot like an app.”
“This robot could be from Tesla, Unitlee, or someone else… but in the field of cleaning, it’s inseparable from Robolock,” he said, claiming the company has the best data on cleaning tasks. Another company may have the best data for the robot to cook, he said.
According to estimates by Morgan Stanley, the humanoid market could reach $5 trillion by 2050, with the potential to reach $800 billion in China alone.
“With humanoids, if they can’t do more than one thing, they’re competing with existing form factors that can do one thing very well,” Bernstein said. However, NE expects that companies around the world will have a big market for safe and affordable humanoids.
“We’re not there yet in technology, but maybe we’ll get there and maybe that multitasking will be a potential differentiator,” he said. “So you don’t need five robots. You just might need them.”
