In brief
Chinese robotics firm Geek+ has deployed over 2,000 autonomous mobile robots across UK warehouses, improving picking speeds, storage capacity and reducing errors. The robots, built in Hefei, China, move shelves and pallets using QR‑code floor markers and safety fencing, bypassing the need for heavy conveyor systems. British retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Next have embraced the technology to respond to labour shortages and productivity pressures highlighted by the OECD. While humanoid robots are also being developed, wheeled robots prove a cost-effective solution for today’s warehouse challenges.
Every time you click "buy" on an online order, the chances are that your purchase starts getting processed within minutes. Increasingly, the journey starts with a squat silver floor robot gliding beneath a storage rack, lifting a shelf and carrying it across a warehouse to a waiting worker.
At Geek+'s factory in Hefei, China, fleets of these robots are built and tested before being shipped to warehouses around the world.
Some of Britain's biggest retailers—including Tesco, Asda and Next—now use the company's technology. By automating these repetitive journeys, Geek+ claims retailers can increase picking speeds, store more goods in hard-to-reach spaces and reduce errors.
Unlike traditional warehouse automation, which relies on fixed conveyor systems, autonomous mobile robots can be deployed simply using QR code floor markers and safety fencing.
Geek+, listed in Hong Kong last year in one of the largest robotics share sales of 2025, has become the world's largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots.
How China became a robotics leader
Robotics has become a strategic priority for Beijing under President Xi Jinping, who seeks to develop new productive forces. With China’s working‑age population shrinking, policymakers see automation as key to boosting productivity and maintaining the manufacturing advantage.
The robotics story builds directly on China’s electric‑vehicle ecosystem, with batteries, motors, sensors and semiconductors developed for EVs now used across robotics. One company leading this crossover is XPeng, which unveiled its humanoid robot Iron last year.
The next frontier
The Chinese‑made robots now operating in British warehouses are designed to solve the problem of moving goods. Geek+ says its next goal is to automate everything else, from picking and handling to packing. That means end‑to‑end unmanned warehouse solutions.
Across China, companies such as AgiBot and Unitree are investing billions in humanoid robots, although the business case for humanoids remains less clear than for wheeled robots.
