Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society

What Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society does

Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS) is a non-profit research institute established in 2019 and affiliated with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, with funding and policy support from the Shenzhen Municipal Government as one of ten government-established basic research institutes. It is structured around five research centers — Healthcare Robotics, Micro-Nanorobotics, Robot Systems, Embodied AI, and Crowd Intelligence — and serves the academic research community, healthcare and infrastructure operators, and downstream industry collaborators rather than operating as a commercial vendor. Outputs include peer-reviewed publications, patented hardware platforms, open-source software frameworks, talent development through AIRS Academy, and industry-facing events such as the annual Shenzhen Intelligent Robot Dexterous Hand Competition.

AIRS's core technology portfolio spans embodied AI (e.g., the StateLinFormer stateful linear-attention model for long-horizon navigation accepted at IROS 2026, and the AIRSPEED open-source data production platform now hosted under The Linux Foundation as AIRS-EAI), micro/nano-robotics (multi-legged magnetic soft robots for on-demand pulmonary drug delivery, published in Advanced Materials with IF 29.1), field robotics (CCRobot-S cable-climbing squads deployed for bridge stay-cable inspection in Chongqing), and generative 3D/world-model reconstruction (CUPID framework). Research leadership is evidenced by publications in Nature Machine Intelligence, Science Robotics, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, and IROS Best Paper awards in 2021 and 2025. Notable personnel include IEEE Fellow Jianwei Huang (300+ papers, 14,000+ citations), H-index 79 scholar Hongyuan Zha, and Senior Research Fellow Takeo Kanade.

AIRS does not sell products in a conventional sense; revenue mechanics are anchored in Shenzhen municipal government research funding, supplemented by technology-transfer partnerships (e.g., Zhaowei Electromechanical for dexterous hand development), industry collaboration, and academic grants. Its go-to-market is event-driven and ecosystem-driven rather than sales-driven — dissemination occurs through the AIRS in the AIR lecture series (over 90 sessions since 2022), top-tier conference publications, the AIRS Academy training programs, and media coverage of Shenzhen's robotics ecosystem. The institute operates from a single headquarters at Xinghe World G2-14F, Longgang District, Shenzhen, with a staff of 69 employees.

Name

Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society

Legal name

深圳市人工智能与机器人研究院

Website

https://airs.cuhk.edu.cn

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AIRS is a Shenzhen municipal government–backed, CUHK-Shenzhen-affiliated non-profit research institute that conducts fundamental and applied research in AI and robotics across five centers, producing peer-reviewed publications, patented hardware platforms, and open-source embodied AI frameworks for academic and industry collaborators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Research

akta.pro primary industry

Aerial Robotics (Drones & UAV Autonomy) (HDAAAIAG)

Keywords

• Artificial intelligence research
• Robotics research institute
• Embodied AI platform
• Medical robotics development
• Open-source AI framework

Headquarters

HQ city

Shenzhen

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: As a Shenzhen municipal government-established research institute, AIRS receives public research funding and operates as a non-profit academic research organization

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AIRS is a non-profit research institute that conducts fundamental and applied research in artificial intelligence and robotics across five research centers (Healthcare Robotics, Micro-Nanorobotics, Robot Systems, Embodied AI, and Crowd Intelligence). It produces open-source platforms (AIRSPEED, AIRS-EAI), patented robotic systems (CCRobot-S, magnetic soft robots), academic publications, and talent development programs through AIRS Academy. The institute also runs the AIRS in the AIR lecture series and the Shenzhen Dexterous Hand Competition for knowledge dissemination.

Product overview

AIRS (Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society) is a research institute affiliated with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, focused on fundamental and applied research in AI and robotics. The institute operates five research centers: Center for Healthcare Robotics, Center for Micro-Nanorobotics, Center for Robot Systems, Center for Embodied AI, and Center for Crowd Intelligence. Key research outputs include StateLinFormer for embodied AI memory capabilities, AIRSPEED open-source data platform, and medical robotics such as multi-legged magnetic soft robots for pulmonary drug delivery. The institute also organizes the AIRS in the AIR lecture series and the Shenzhen Dexterous Hand Competition as part of its knowledge dissemination and industry promotion activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• StateLinFormer
• AIRSPEED Open-source Data Production Platform (具身智能开源数据平台)

Quantifiable outcome

• CCRobot-S deployed for bridge inspection in Chongqing
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• The Chinese University of Hong Kong, ShenzhencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe main contributing university to AIRS, providing primary academic oversight, faculty support, and institutional collaboration for research activities
• Hong Kong UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with HKU's School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, including collaborative research events and joint academic activities through AIRS in the AIR seminars
• The Linux FoundationmajorTechnology or IntegrationAIRS-EAI open-source embodied AI framework joined The Linux Foundation to promote global embodied AI infrastructure development
• Worldwide Top InstitutionsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIRS collaborates with top international universities and research institutions in AI and robotics for joint research and knowledge exchange
• Zhaowei Electromechanical Co., Ltd. (深圳市兆威机电股份有限公司)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partnership for dexterous hand technology development, joint research on robotic end-effectors and embodied intelligence applications
• China Academy of Engineering Physics ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on specialized robotics research
• Shenzhen River Delta College (深圳河套学院)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative establishment of AI Theory and System Center with the college
• Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenzhen Advanced Technology InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on human-machine fusion exoskeleton robotics research

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Research Asia: The largest industry-affiliated AI research lab in Asia, located in Beijing with a long-running focus on computer vision, speech, and increasingly embodied/robotic systems. Comparable in publication output and talent caliber, though with substantially larger corporate funding and broader remit.
• Tencent AI Lab: Industry AI lab pursuing robotics, multi-modal perception, and embodied AI from a commercial Beijing-based parent. Shares research overlap with AIRS in dexterous manipulation and embodied agents, but operates with different mission (commercial deployment) and larger compute resources.
• Baidu Research: Major Chinese industry AI research organization with active programs in autonomous driving, robotics, and large language/visual models. Comparable publication presence and talent pipeline, though anchored to a publicly listed commercial parent with productization mandate.

Direct peers

• CUHK Multimedia Laboratory (MMLab): Computer vision and deep learning research lab at The Chinese University of Hong Kong—the same parent university system as AIRS. Closest academic peer given shared institutional lineage, overlapping research domains (robotics, vision, embodied AI), and direct student/postdoc exchange pathways.

Others

• MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL): The global benchmark for integrated computer science and robotics research. Comparable in research breadth, publication stature, and impact, but operating within a U.S. university with very different funding model and geopolitical exposure than AIRS.
• ETH Zurich Autonomous Systems Lab: Leading European research group for autonomous robot navigation, legged locomotion, and field robotics. Highly comparable research portfolio, but operating from a Swiss university with very different funding and geopolitical context than AIRS.
• Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory: Premier U.S. academic AI/robotics lab with strong publication record in embodied AI, manipulation, and learning-based control. Comparable in mission of fundamental research, but with substantially different funding base and Western academic positioning.
• Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute: The founding global benchmark academic robotics institute, with deep technical overlap across mobile manipulation, field robotics, and dexterous manipulation. Not a competitor for talent or funding, but the standard AIRS' research output is benchmarked against.

Regional players

• Pengcheng Laboratory: Shenzhen-headquartered national laboratory pursuing AI, robotics, and high-performance computing with strong government backing. Directly comparable geographic footprint, funding model, and focus on translating foundational research into deployable systems.
• Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech): Shenzhen-based research university with strong AI, robotics, and mechanical engineering departments and notable government backing. Regional peer that competes with AIRS for Shenzhen-based faculty, students, and industry collaboration contracts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/szairs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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