LG Electronics CEO Lyu Jae-cheol visited Chinese humanoid robot maker AgiBot during a three-day trip to Shanghai earlier this week, signaling the Korean electronics giant’s deepening commitment to robotics and AI as pillars of its future business.
According to industry sources on Sunday, Lyu toured AgiBot’s facilities starting Wednesday, meeting with the company’s leadership to discuss trends in humanoid robotics and explore further collaboration. AgiBot ranks among the world’s top humanoid robot makers by shipment volume and is known for operating large-scale “data learning farms” that collect and train on robot motion data to refine AI performance.
LG Electronics took an equity stake in AgiBot last August, laying the groundwork for technical cooperation. This latest visit reportedly focused on AgiBot’s mass production systems, its data training infrastructure, and supply chain structures for critical components such as actuators.
LG’s robotics ambitions currently center on its home robot CLOiD, alongside in-house development of key components like actuators. In investor materials released ahead of its recent shareholders’ meeting, the company positioned home robotics and other new ventures as core growth areas alongside its established home appliance business.
Industry observers read the trip as a hands-on technology scouting effort by Lyu, who has consistently emphasized that scaling up humanoid robotics requires massive data acquisition and sustained investment. At CES 2026 in January, he told reporters that LG plans to move beyond the lab and begin real-world field trials of CLOiD “as early as next year.”
The Shanghai trip was not limited to robotics. Lyu also attended AWE 2026, China’s largest consumer electronics expo, and held meetings with local appliance distributors. LG set up an exhibition booth at AWE showcasing its AI-powered home technologies, reinforcing its claim as the world’s top home appliance brand in a market where that title carries real competitive weight.
mjh@heraldcorp.com
