On the evening of August 27, Unitree Robotics announced that the company would provide free annual sponsorship to a number of “young geniuses.” Any student passionate about technology can apply by sending a project proposal email directly.
The requirements include: being a student from high school through before completing a master’s degree; following a process-oriented rather than results-oriented approach (simply make every effort to complete the project); having no restrictions on project content, as long as you genuinely dare to imagine and act: chip manufacturing, AGI, microrobots, controllable nuclear fusion, limb regeneration, superconducting materials, and all other cutting-edge fields are open for students to explore boldly; funding of RMB 10,000 to RMB 20,000 will be provided based on the quality of the project proposal and its execution (free sponsorship provided in stages), with no upper limit for exceptionally outstanding projects.
Regarding the motivation behind the sponsorship, Unitree Robotics said that many people’s curiosity about and passion for technology begin in childhood, but external resources and other factors prevent them from developing and refining their interests and talents earlier.
Unitree Robotics also recounted the real experience of its founder, Wang Xingxing. According to the article, as a child, he could only use a small amount of pocket money intended for food and leftover materials to conduct small-scale technological explorations, including a small turbojet, rechargeable chemical batteries, and biological batteries. Around 2010, he applied for the “Zhejiang Province Xinmiao Program” and subsequently received approximately RMB 10,000 in project funding for a presence-based force-feedback haptic glove project.
Unitree Robotics stated: “In a sense, this project funding could be considered the first ‘substantial’ startup capital received by him personally and by Unitree Robotics. As an ordinary person, he therefore deeply understands the importance of startup funding to every student who is passionate about technology.”