- Chinese robotics leader Geek+ now runs more than 2,000 autonomous mobile robots across ten UK warehouse sites, powering fulfilment for retailers including Tesco, Asda and Next.
- Britain has become Geek+'s largest European market, driven by labour shortages and pressure to fulfil online orders faster and cheaper.
- The company is moving into humanoid robotics with its Gino 1, as Chinese rivals such as XPeng, AgiBot and Unitree invest heavily in the same space.
- Geek+ — Chinese supplier of the warehouse robots
- Tesco, Asda, Next — UK retailers running the fleets
- XPeng, Unitree, AgiBot — Chinese rivals developing humanoid robots
LONDON — A quiet revolution is unfolding inside Britain’s warehouses, and it is being written in Mandarin. Chinese robotics leader Geek+ now has more than 2,000 autonomous mobile robots operating across ten UK warehouse sites, powering the fulfilment operations behind household retail names including Tesco, Asda, and Next. Britain has become Geek+’s single largest market in Europe, a striking position for a country long criticised for lagging on industrial automation.
Why UK Retailers Are Turning to China’s Automation
It’s not by chance. Three pressures are pushing UK retailers toward automation:
- Persistent labour shortages
- Poor productivity over the last decade
- Rising pressure to fulfil online orders faster and cheaper
There’s a solution: automation, and the Chinese are the most readily available and economical means to get robots into the warehouse. It mirrors China’s retail push West, from stores to Shein’s Hong Kong debut.
Inside Geek+: The World’s Largest Autonomous Mobile Robot Supplier
Geek+, which listed on the Hong Kong exchange in 2025, is the world’s largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots. Its fleets glide across warehouse floors carrying shelves directly to human pickers in a goods-to-person model, cutting the miles staff walk each day and dramatically speeding up order processing and sortation. In the UK, deployment is handled by partner MotionTech. Meanwhile, the Account Director Barry Pemberton summed up the appeal bluntly: customers “want fast deployable solutions… ultimately on a smaller footprint with reduced headcount.”
UK Robotics Adoption Still Has Room to Catch Up
That value proposition is landing at exactly the right moment. According to a 2026 OECD report, the UK has surprisingly low robotics adoption for a nation with such deep manufacturing heritage, leaving significant room for rapid catch-up as retailers race to modernise. Operators upgrading fulfilment increasingly source warehouse-automation and industrial equipment.
Gino 1: China’s Automation Moves Into Humanoid Robots
The next wave is on the horizon. Geek+ revealed Gino 1 in February 2026 and claims it is the first humanoid robot designed for use in a warehouse environment. Gino 1 is built around three purpose-made features:
- Three-finger dexterous hands
- Force-controlled dual arms
- A proprietary “Geek+ Brain” trained on real warehouse data
Together they tackle the complex picking and sorting tasks that still make up over 50 percent of warehouse operating costs. The commercial opportunity is huge: more than 70% of warehouses out there still have manual labour on board, and Geek+ claims to have gotten validation from a Fortune 500 customer in just three months after launching. Automation is reshaping fulfilment everywhere, as Amazon Prime Air expands to nearly 500 US cities.
Chinese Rivals: XPeng, AgiBot and Unitree
Chinese rivals are pushing hard in the same direction. EV maker XPeng is developing its “Iron” humanoid, while AgiBot and Unitree are investing billions into next-generation machines. Chinese autonomy players are scaling abroad too, as in Pony.ai’s overseas robotaxi pipeline.
What China’s Automation Means for B2B Buyers
For B2B buyers, from sourcing teams to logistics operators, the message is clear: automation with Chinese robotics companies is a competitive equalizer in retail supply chains. However, there are some kinks to work out. The Trades Union Congress says businesses should use technology to raise productivity and enhance employment, rather than just to save money, and should engage workers in decisions on automation. The same competitive pressure is squeezing legacy manufacturers, such as Toyota’s global sales decline.
Balancing Efficiency and Worker Protection
The next act will be about how Britain can achieve efficiency gains without compromising on staff protection. The direction of travel is not in doubt, and more and more the robots driving the change feature the “Made in China” label. Chinese goods keep flowing into Western markets, like the 20,000 Midea AC units shipped to France.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, behind the scenes. Chinese robotics leader Geek+ now runs more than 2,000 autonomous mobile robots across ten UK warehouse sites, powering fulfilment for retailers including Tesco, Asda and Next. Britain has become Geek+’s single largest market in Europe.
Household names including Tesco, Asda and Next rely on Geek+ robots inside their fulfilment operations. In the UK, deployment is handled by Geek+’s partner MotionTech.
Geek+ is the world’s largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots and listed on the Hong Kong exchange in 2025. Its goods-to-person fleets carry shelves directly to human pickers, cutting the miles staff walk each day and speeding up order processing and sortation.
Persistent labour shortages, a decade of poor productivity and pressure to fulfil online orders faster and cheaper are driving demand, and Chinese robots are the most readily available and economical option. A 2026 OECD report also found the UK has surprisingly low robotics adoption, leaving room for rapid catch-up.
Gino 1, revealed in February 2026, is claimed by Geek+ to be the first humanoid robot designed for a warehouse environment. It features three-finger dexterous hands, force-controlled dual arms and a proprietary “Geek+ Brain” trained on real warehouse data to handle picking and sorting tasks that make up over 50% of warehouse operating costs.
Beyond Geek+, EV maker XPeng is developing its “Iron” humanoid, while AgiBot and Unitree are investing billions into next-generation machines, intensifying China’s automation push into robotics.
The Trades Union Congress says businesses should use technology to raise productivity and enhance employment rather than simply cut costs, and should engage workers in automation decisions. The challenge for Britain is achieving efficiency gains without compromising staff protection.
