{"id":"6d0dbbcd-0863-4ca3-8788-078cabd8d066","modelId":"96ab08d5-2d7d-4a9f-8f7e-e9ec4e2e7700","versionId":null,"locationId":"8879e393-831e-40e2-a879-b99950817fb9","operatorId":"f8c371ca-9389-47ad-ad0e-fc0caa952b62","ownerId":null,"slug":"kepler-k2-saicgm-shanghai","status":"operational","firstSeen":"2025-09-01T00:00:00.000Z","statusChangeReason":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-first-commercially-available-hybrid-architecture-humanoid-robot-moves-into-mass-production-kepler-marks-the-start-of-a-new-industrial-era-302568138.html","label":"World's First Commercially Available Hybrid-Architecture Humanoid Robot Moves Into Mass Production","title":"World's First Commercially Available Hybrid-Architecture Humanoid Robot Moves Into Mass Production","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Kepler via PR Newswire","publishedAt":"2025-09-26"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-kepler-humanoid-robot-shanghai-plant","label":"China: Humanoid robot transforms into car mechanic in Shanghai factory","title":"China: Humanoid robot transforms into car mechanic in Shanghai factory","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering","publishedAt":"2025-09-01"}],"notes":"Kepler K2 Bumblebee humanoid robots deployed at SAIC-GM's automotive manufacturing facility in Shanghai, handling transportation of 20 kg material bins in logistics operations. Deployment began from approximately September 2025, coinciding with Kepler's announcement of K2 mass production. The K2 Bumblebee is a hybrid-architecture (wheeled + arm) humanoid at 165 cm, 55 kg, designed for industrial material handling. Kepler described this as part of the first commercial wave of K2 deployments following the start of mass production.\n\nSeparate but related: an earlier testing phase at an SAIC-GM automotive plant in Shanghai was reported in April-May 2025, covering inspection and assembly support tasks. The September 2025 deployment is the confirmed commercial operational phase.","keyFacts":[{"label":"Use case","value":"Logistics -- transportation of 20 kg material bins"},{"label":"Operator","value":"SAIC-GM (SAIC General Motors)"},{"label":"Deployment start","value":"September 2025"},{"label":"Robot config","value":"Kepler K2 Bumblebee (hybrid-architecture, wheeled)"}],"reviewNote":null,"exposureHours":null,"exposureBasis":null,"customerSegment":null,"scaleTier":null,"contractValueUsd":null,"contractValueBasis":null,"customerCompanyId":null,"customerExternalName":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-11T23:43:54.920Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-12T00:05:56.969Z","model":{"id":"96ab08d5-2d7d-4a9f-8f7e-e9ec4e2e7700","companyId":"63df6632-c8a1-4a49-ba31-5c46755c1e23","modelName":"K2 Bumblebee","slug":"kepler-k2","description":"Kepler Robotics (legally Shanghai Kepler Exploration Robot; founded 2023 in Pudong, Shanghai; CEO Hu Debo) makes the K2 Bumblebee, a fifth-generation full-size industrial humanoid notable for its proprietary planetary roller-screw linear actuators and a straight-knee hybrid gait. Verified specs include 175 cm, 75 kg, 52 degrees of freedom, 80-plus sensors, 100 TOPS of onboard compute, about 15 kg of payload per arm, and roughly eight hours of runtime, at a list price of RMB 248,000 (about $34,000). It was shown independently at ICRA 2025, and units entered real-world testing at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai for quality checks and material-bin transport, corroborated across multiple outlets; the company is now reportedly controlled by the A-share-listed Tao Motor via acquisition. The registry records it at pilot maturity rather than commercial: Kepler's own 'world's first commercially available' and 'mass production' framing names zero end customers and quantifies demand only as framework agreements for several thousand units, which is a claim rather than booked orders. The strongest verifiable signal is the SAIC-GM plant testing, not a commercial supply contract, so volume shipments, the unnamed framework agreements, and a secondary-blog wheel-hub deployment are recorded as claimed-but-not-verified.","formFactor":"humanoid","maturityStage":"pilot","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"Verified","value":"Kepler Robotics (Shanghai Kepler Exploration Robot; founded 2023, Pudong Shanghai; CEO Hu Debo) makes the K2 'Bumblebee', a Gen-5 full-size industrial humanoid using proprietary planetary roller-screw linear actuators. Independently shown at ICRA 2025. Units entered real-world TESTING at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai (quality checks, material-bin transport), corroborated by multiple outlets. Now reportedly controlled by A-share company Tao Motor (M&A)."},{"label":"Maturity = pilot (verified-vs-claimed)","value":"Kepler's own 'world's first commercially available / mass production' framing names ZERO end customers and quantifies demand only as 'framework agreements for several thousand units' - a claim, not orders. The strongest verifiable signal is plant TESTING at SAIC-GM, not a commercial supply contract. maturityStage=pilot."},{"label":"Claimed but NOT verified","value":"'Mass production' volume shipments; 'several thousand units' / 'hundreds of millions of yuan' framework agreements (no named counterparties); a secondary-blog HZF wheel-hub deployment (not in Kepler PR or tier-1 press); funding totals (trackers disagree, ~$14.6M cited, low confidence)."}],"specs":"K2 Bumblebee (Gen-5): 175 cm, 75 kg, 52 DoF, 80+ sensors, 100 TOPS onboard, 15 kg/arm payload, ~8 hr runtime, 11-DoF hands; list price RMB 248,000 (~$34k)","formFactor":"humanoid (full-size industrial bipedal humanoid; planetary roller-screw actuators, straight-knee gait)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/kepler-robotics-showcases-k2-bumblebee-icra-2025/","title":"Kepler showcases K2 Bumblebee at ICRA 2025 (independent demo; Gen-5 specs)","sourceName":"The Robot Report"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-kepler-humanoid-robot-shanghai-plant","title":"Kepler K2 in real-world testing at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-first-commercially-available-hybrid-architecture-humanoid-robot-moves-into-mass-production-kepler-marks-the-start-of-a-new-industrial-era-302568138.html","title":"Kepler announces K2 'mass production' at RMB 248,000 (Sept 2025; company claim)","sourceName":"Kepler (PR Newswire)"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/kepler-debuts-k2-humanoid-robot","title":"Kepler debuts K2 humanoid robot (Gen-5 lineage K1 -> K2)","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://www.gasgoo.com/news/70036000.html","title":"A-share company (Tao Motor) takes control of Kepler (humanoid-robot M&A)","sourceName":"Gasgoo"}],"aliases":["Kepler K2","Forerunner K2","K2 Bumblebee"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T19:23:07.303Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-03T19:23:07.303Z","company":{"id":"63df6632-c8a1-4a49-ba31-5c46755c1e23","name":"Kepler Robotics","slug":"kepler","description":"Chinese humanoid-robot maker (Shanghai; founded 2023) of the K2 'Bumblebee' full-size industrial humanoid; reportedly controlled by Tao Motor (M&A).","status":"private (reportedly Tao Motor-controlled)","founded":2023,"hq":"Shanghai, China","fundingTotal":null,"type":"both","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.therobotreport.com/kepler-robotics-showcases-k2-bumblebee-icra-2025/","title":"Kepler showcases K2 Bumblebee at ICRA 2025 (independent demo; Gen-5 specs)","sourceName":"The Robot Report"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/china-kepler-humanoid-robot-shanghai-plant","title":"Kepler K2 in real-world testing at an SAIC-GM auto plant in Shanghai","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"},{"url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/worlds-first-commercially-available-hybrid-architecture-humanoid-robot-moves-into-mass-production-kepler-marks-the-start-of-a-new-industrial-era-302568138.html","title":"Kepler announces K2 'mass production' at RMB 248,000 (Sept 2025; company claim)","sourceName":"Kepler (PR Newswire)"},{"url":"https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/kepler-debuts-k2-humanoid-robot","title":"Kepler debuts K2 humanoid robot (Gen-5 lineage K1 -> K2)","sourceName":"Interesting Engineering"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Product","value":"K2 'Bumblebee' Gen-5 industrial humanoid; roller-screw actuators; RMB 248,000."},{"label":"Status","value":"Pilot: real-world testing at SAIC-GM plant; framework agreements unnamed."}],"aliases":["Kepler","Kepler Exploration Robot","Shanghai Kepler"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-03T19:23:06.525Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-03T19:23:06.525Z"}},"version":null,"location":{"id":"8879e393-831e-40e2-a879-b99950817fb9","name":"Shanghai","slug":"shanghai","kind":"city","parentLocationId":null,"region":null,"lat":null,"lng":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"high","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-26T13:19:00.181Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-26T13:19:30.072Z"},"operator":{"id":"f8c371ca-9389-47ad-ad0e-fc0caa952b62","name":"SAIC General Motors","slug":"saic-general-motors","description":null,"status":null,"founded":1997,"hq":"Shanghai, China","fundingTotal":null,"type":null,"reviewStatus":"unreviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://cnevpost.com/2026/03/27/saic-gm-deploys-humanoid-robots-buick-battery-line/","label":"SAIC-GM deploys wheeled humanoid robots on Buick battery assembly line","title":"SAIC-GM deploys wheeled humanoid robots on Buick battery assembly line","mediaType":"article"}],"keyFacts":[],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-11T23:01:16.163Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-11T23:01:16.163Z"},"owner":null,"derived":{"trustTier":"unverified","currentPosture":null},"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Event","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/deployments/kepler-k2-saicgm-shanghai","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/deployments/kepler-k2-saicgm-shanghai","name":"K2 Bumblebee at Shanghai","identifier":"6d0dbbcd-0863-4ca3-8788-078cabd8d066","startDate":"2025-09-01T00:00:00.000Z","location":{"@type":"Place","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/locations/shanghai","name":"Shanghai"},"organizer":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/companies/saic-general-motors","name":"SAIC General Motors"},"about":{"@type":"Product","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/models/kepler-k2","name":"K2 Bumblebee"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":"pilot","lifecycle_state":"active","architectural_position":{"cohort":"humanoid","sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":[]}}}