Hong Kong has opened its first convenience stores operated by humanoid robots, giving Chinese robotics company Galbot a commercial base outside mainland China.
Three stores in Hung Hom, Kai Tak and Wan Chai began operations after an opening ceremony attended by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. Galbot plans to open about 10 more outlets in Hong Kong as it uses the city to test its technology and prepare for wider international expansion.
The Hong Kong outlets are Galbot’s first stores outside mainland China. The company opened its first robot-operated store on the mainland in August last year and has since expanded to about 200 outlets across 50 cities.
Zhao Yuli, Galbot’s chief strategy officer, said Hong Kong was an important platform for mainland Chinese companies seeking to enter international markets. The company has operated an office in Hong Kong since 2024 and began systematic international expansion this year.
Each store uses wheeled humanoid robots powered by Galbot’s embodied foundation model, AstraBrain. The robots can take orders, deliver products and prepare drinks through a connected coffee machine, although human workers are still required for some tasks, including parts of the replenishment process.
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Galbot expects the level of automation to increase over time. The robots deployed in Hong Kong are also designed to understand Cantonese, which the company said would be one of the features of the new outlets.
The stores will sell food and drinks as well as cultural and creative products. Galbot sees the retail model as a way to test robots during continuous commercial operations rather than at temporary exhibitions.
Hong Kong Seeks Role
Chan said Hong Kong could play an important and unique role in the robotics industry in three areas: providing real-world application scenarios, supporting research and development, and offering access to capital.
He pointed to the city’s dense population, diverse business environments and international links as advantages for robotics companies. Galbot’s decision to bring its technology to Hong Kong would allow it to validate and demonstrate its products before seeking wider international deployment, Chan said.
Chan cited a Morgan Stanley report that forecasts nearly 1 billion humanoid robots worldwide by 2050. China is expected to account for about 300 million of them, he said.
The comments come as Chinese robotics companies increasingly look beyond industrial automation toward service-sector applications. Retail stores, pharmacies and tourism sites are among the areas where companies are testing whether robots can perform repetitive tasks with limited human supervision.
From Retail To Tourism
Zhao said Galbot had previously operated stores in Beijing and Jiangxi that combined robotics with sales of locally themed merchandise. These included Beijing-related products near the Summer Palace and porcelain blind boxes in Jingdezhen.
She said some stores at cultural and tourism sites had increased foot traffic by 20% to 30% over the past year. The company is also considering how autonomous robots could allow businesses to extend opening hours where maintaining round-the-clock human staffing is difficult.
Galbot has deployed smart pharmacies in several mainland cities that operate 24 hours a day. The company sees such applications as examples of how robots can support services outside traditional manufacturing.
Hong Kong’s relatively high rents and labour costs present a different commercial environment. Zhao said Galbot was prepared to invest in the stores and expected them to break even within 12 to 18 months, a period she described as common for physical retail businesses.
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Investment Backs Expansion
Clara Chan Ka-chai, chief executive of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, said the launch followed the corporation’s investment in Galbot two years ago. HKIC has invested in more than 200 companies, with more than 70% of its deployed capital going to early- and growth-stage businesses.
Eleven companies in its portfolio had listed in Hong Kong, while more than 30 firms had applied or were preparing to apply for listings in 2026, she said. HKIC recorded a 14% net internal rate of return across its portfolio as of the end of 2025.
Galbot’s expansion also follows demonstrations of its robots in competitive settings. Zhao said the company’s robots won gold, silver and bronze medals in the retail category at the World Humanoid Robot Games, where machines were required to restock shelves, manage inventory and identify and reposition misplaced products.
The company says the Hong Kong stores will provide a more sustained test than short-term exhibitions. Robots will have to interact with customers, handle routine retail tasks and operate continuously in a commercial setting.
Next Stage For Galbot
Galbot said orders for all of its robot models exceeded 1,200 in China last year. The company is now exploring partnerships with local operators as it seeks to deploy its robots in more international markets.
Zhao said Galbot also plans to bring additional models to Hong Kong, including the ET1, which the company describes as its first learning-capable agentic bipedal humanoid robot. The planned expansion will give the company an opportunity to assess how its technology performs in a market with different customers, costs and operating conditions.
For Hong Kong, the stores offer a practical application of its push to develop robotics and artificial intelligence while strengthening links between technology companies and investors. For Galbot, the project provides an early test of whether a business model developed in mainland China can be adapted to an international market.
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The results will help determine how quickly humanoid robots can move from demonstrations into everyday commercial services. Galbot’s planned expansion in Hong Kong and further overseas deployments will provide a clearer indication of whether the technology can scale beyond controlled trials and into sustained retail operations.
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