Amid the wave of continuous breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology, embodied AI is moving from isolated advancements to industrial synergy, ushering in a new stage of ecosystem-driven development.
From March 29 to 30, the 2025 China Embodied Intelligence Conference (CEAI 2025) was successfully held in Beijing. As the first and most influential gathering in China’s embodied AI sector, it attracted the largest number of participants to date.
With the theme “Embodied Frontiers, Leading the Future with Intelligence,” the conference brought together top domestic scholars, industry leaders, and policymakers to discuss frontier breakthroughs in embodied AI technology and pathways for industrial implementation, injecting new momentum into human-machine collaborative development in the intelligent era.
Strategic Elevation: Stimulating Innovation Across Industry, Academia, and Application
Embodied AI, a shining star in the current technology sector, is attracting global attention from researchers and industry professionals due to its unique appeal and immense potential.
Industry reports indicate that China’s embodied AI market size exceeded 480 billion yuan ($67 billion) in 2024. With technological breakthroughs in large models at the edge, the market size is projected to surpass one trillion yuan by 2031.
Embodied AI has become an integral part of national strategy. In 2025, it was included for the first time in the Government Work Report. The report proposed establishing a mechanism for increasing investment in future industries and cultivating emerging sectors such as bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI, and 6G.
This marks a new stage in the deep integration of artificial intelligence with the real economy. Embodied AI has become a key direction for China’s cultivation of future industries and a “critical field” in global technological competition and cooperation.
The development of embodied AI holds significant importance. From a scientific research perspective, it provides a new lens for understanding the essence of human intelligence. From an application technology perspective, it offers broad prospects.
Currently, breakthroughs have emerged in embodied AI across multiple sectors, including transportation, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and elderly care.
As frontier tracks continue to flourish and industrial layouts accelerate, technological innovation keeps pace with the times. Recognizing the growing urgency for industry exchange, the 2025 China Embodied Intelligence Conference provided a premier platform for showcasing achievements, exchanging ideas, and sparking wisdom. Hosted by the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (CAAI), the conference was co-organized by the CAAI Committee on Embodied Intelligence, the Institute of Computing Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Tongji University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Tsinghua University. It aims to further promote research and development in embodied AI, deepen the integration of industry, academia, and application, strengthen cooperation and exchange, and jointly elevate China’s embodied AI endeavors to new heights.
The conference invited top global experts in the field of embodied AI to share cutting-edge insights and experiences.
Notable speakers included:
- Dai Qionghai, Counselor to the State Council, President of CAAI, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and Professor at Tsinghua University
- Tan Tieniu, Academician of CAS and Party Secretary of Nanjing University
- Wang Yaonan, Academician of CAE and Professor at Hunan University
- Guo Lei, Academician of CAS and Professor at Beihang University
- Yu Haibin, Academician of CAE and Researcher at the Shenyang Institute of Automation, CAS
- Sun Fuchun, Vice President of CAAI and Professor at Tsinghua University
- Sun Changyin, President of Anhui University
- Wang Guoyin, Director of the Organization Work Committee of CAAI and President of Chongqing Normal University
- Ma Lizhuang, Distinguished Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- Wang Dayi, Director of the Science and Technology Committee of the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering
The conference also specially invited experts from various domestic fields, representatives of young scholars, and heads of corporate R&D departments as forum speakers.
Gathering Achievements: Blueprinting a New Future for Embodied AI Development
From brain-computer interface algorithm technologies capable of environmental perception and emotional interaction, to kinematic platforms for embodied AI robots featuring high-precision underwater and above-water motion capture, to humanoid robots with conversational abilities and flexible movements, modular quadruped robots capable of autonomous morphological reconstruction, and flexible collaborative robotic arms equipped with industrial-grade AI large models… At the conference venue, leading industry enterprises interpreted the infinite possibilities of embodied AI through “hardcore technology.”
During the opening ceremony, the Embodied Intelligence Professional Committee of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence was officially established. Dai Qionghai presented the committee’s plaque.
Currently, embodied AI is booming, and under technological evolution, many directions warrant exploration. During the opening ceremony, Yang Yi, Professor at Zhejiang University and Conference Program Chair, represented the professional committee to release the “Top 15 Key Directions for Embodied Intelligence” and the White Paper on Embodied Intelligence of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence.
The released “Top 15 Key Directions for Embodied Intelligence” represents the first systematic mapping of the technological development roadmap in China. Yang Yi explained that the formation of this list underwent rigorous evaluation, selecting the best from 26 candidate directions to finalize these fifteen key areas.
They are:
- Multimodal embodied perception
- Embodied autonomous learning
- Embodied large models
- Construction of embodied world models
- Embodied manipulation
- Embodied navigation and path planning
- Embodied human-machine collaboration
- Swarm embodied intelligence
- Embodied knowledge reasoning
- Embodied AI simulation platforms
- Transfer and generalization from embodied AI simulation to real-world environments
- Embodied AI safety
- Embodied dialogue and interaction
- Embodied reinforcement learning and adaptive control
- Embodied consciousness and emotion
The White Paper on Embodied Intelligence of the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence was compiled by experts from over 20 institutions, including CAS, Tongji University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tsinghua University, and Zhejiang University, organized under the CAAI Embodied Intelligence Professional Committee. The white paper explains the concept and connotation of embodied AI, key technologies, datasets, and platforms, current industry applications, and analyzes and summarizes future development trends in the field.
As embodied AI is a typical interdisciplinary industry, participating enterprises at this conference included not only data service providers and hardware/software platform companies from the foundational layer of the industrial chain, but also representatives of technology-layer firms specializing in computer vision and brain-inspired algorithms. Through various robotic products and solutions, they fully demonstrated the practical implementation results of embodied AI technologies.
Furthermore, industry experts and scholars engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions on latest research achievements, application practices, and future trends. The conference organized 20 special forums and roundtable dialogues. These covered basic technology themes such as “Trusted Embodied Visual Computing” and “Embodied Agent Vision-Language Navigation,” interdisciplinary topics like “Embodied Large Models,” “Generative AI and Embodied Intelligence,” and “Embodied AI and Continuous Learning,” as well as application scenario themes including “Automotive Embodied AI Technology” and “Urban Embodied Intelligence.” This constructed a high-end, international, and comprehensive academic exchange platform.
Ecosystem Co-construction: Establishing a Benchmark for Integrated Innovation in Beijing
Following the inaugural China Embodied Intelligence Conference in 2024, the 2025 edition was held in Beijing for the first time.
In recent years, Beijing has accelerated the implementation of the national “AI+” strategy to foster an innovative ecosystem for the AI industry. In July 2024, it released the Beijing Action Plan for Promoting “AI+” (2024–2025), establishing itself as a leader in high-quality AI development nationwide. In 2024, Beijing’s core AI industry scale reached nearly 350 billion yuan ($49 billion), with over 2,400 related enterprises, accounting for nearly half of the national total.
Beijing has attracted numerous high-level teams from institutions such as Peking University and Tsinghua University, boasting leading domestic research foundations. It actively cultivates a favorable business environment with strong corporate innovation momentum; possesses application scenarios suitable for the early implementation of embodied AI, revealing huge market demand potential; and hosts internationally influential events such as the Zhongguancun Forum, China Embodied Intelligence Conference, and World Robot Conference, fostering active international exchange… Beijing has already accumulated a solid foundation and significant first-mover advantages in the field of embodied AI.
Consistently focusing on frontier technology layout and exploring uncharted territories, Beijing became the first city nationwide to release the Beijing Action Plan for Embodied AI Technology Innovation and Industrial Cultivation (2025–2027) (hereinafter referred to as the “Action Plan”) in February this year. The plan aims to fully leverage local innovation resources in embodied AI to accelerate high-quality development in the sector. Later that month, the Zhongguancun Embodied Intelligence Innovation Industrial Park was officially unveiled. As China’s first embodied intelligence industrial park, it has initially formed a trend of clustered industrial development.
During this conference, Beijing officials provided a detailed interpretation of the “Action Plan.” Beijing will focus on building an innovation source and industrial growth pole for embodied AI with global influence, using innovation-driven development, platform support, scenario traction, and ecosystem optimization as breakthrough points. By 2027, original innovation capabilities will be significantly enhanced, infrastructure construction will gradually improve, scenario scales will expand continuously, and the industrial ecosystem will be optimized sustainably.
To accelerate technological innovation and industrial empowerment in embodied AI, late last year, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and Zhongguancun Management Committee systematically established five municipal key laboratories in the field of embodied AI. Using CAS, Tsinghua University, Beihang University, Beijing University of Technology, and Beijing Jiaotong University as innovation bases, and entities like State Grid as industry application empowerment platforms, they constructed a multi-dimensional collaborative innovation network integrating technological innovation, scenario implementation, and industrial cultivation. At the conference, Beijing officially activated the Beijing Embodied AI Collaborative Innovation Matrix, using this matrix as an innovation origin to accelerate the construction of an ecosystem for collaborative innovation across industry, academia, and research in embodied AI.
The journey is vast, and the wind is strong; heavy responsibilities call for renewed effort. Guided by its goal of building a global benchmark city for the digital economy, Beijing is targeting embodied AI as a high ground for future industries, cultivating fertile soil for innovation and activating development momentum. From testing experiments to industrial practice, from technological breakthroughs to ecosystem co-construction, Beijing is writing a new chapter in human-machine symbiosis with “capital-standard” excellence.