Imagine a tech conference where the speakers aren’t just humans, but actual humanoid robots! That’s exactly what’s unfolding at Web Summit 2026, with leading-edge bots from Agibot and Galbot officially listed on the agenda. But the real fireworks ignited when William Shi from Agibot decided to spill some serious tea on his competitors, unleashing some hilariously pointed jabs at everyone from Tesla’s Optimus to Figure AI and Unitree.
According to Shi, Tesla’s Optimus is all flash and no substance, a marketing marvel from Elon Musk with little public showing of actual work. Figure AI? Sure, they work in factories, but “never dance.” And Unitree? “Only dance, never work.” Ouch! Naturally, Shi painted Agibot as the best of both worlds, boasting that their robots can bust a move and are already logging serious hours in over a thousand factories across China. It’s a bold claim, especially in an industry that’s often tight-lipped about its rivals.
So, how did these robotic speakers actually do? Well, let’s just say they’re not quite ready for their TED Talk debut. They struggled with questions, were slow to respond, and even interrupted other speakers — definitely a lot of room for improvement! Interestingly, while Agibot is a market leader in shipments, the article points out that if only about a thousand of their robots are actually in factories, a whole lot of the others are probably doing… well, a lot of dancing, training, and research. So perhaps Shi’s own jab at “dancing-only” robots had a touch of irony. This entire robotic spectacle, by the way, is part of a massive Chinese presence at Web Summit, hinting at some big future moves for the conference itself.