(Yicai) Dec. 23 -- Chinese robotics startup AgiBot yesterday rolled out Qingtian Rent, a new robot rental platform that allows customers to lease androids for events and other uses for as much as CNY100,000 (USD14,227) a day, despite ongoing uncertainties in the sector.

Robots can be hired through a WeChat mini-program for use in more than 16 applications, including business meetings, trade shows, concerts and weddings, AgiBot said on its WeChat account. Prices vary depending on the scenario and the robot model. For example, the D1 Ultra quadruped robot used for security patrols rents for about CNY500 (USD71) a day, while a “sports competition” package, which includes two D1 robots, costs up to CNY99,800 (USD14,227) per day.

The rental market still faces several challenges, such as unstable pricing, strong seasonal swings in demand, and incompatible interface standards across different robot brands, analysts said. Whether Qingtian Rent can succeed will depend on whether its open ecosystem can truly address these core industry pain points and establish a sustainable profit model.

Qingtian Rent is already operating in 50 cities and has brought together more than 600 service providers and over 1,000 robots, said Chief Executive Officer Li Yiyan. Next year, it plans to expand its service network to more than 200 cities.

The platform also announced its “1234 strategy,” which aims by 2026 to have more than 10 original equipment manufacturers onboard, build a network of over 200 top-tier rental service providers, bring in more than 3,000 content creators and serve 400,000 customers.

The focus this year will be on entertainment and performance-related rentals, said Jiang Qingsong, chairman of Qingtian Rent. Starting next year, the company plans to gradually open up rentals in the manufacturing and industrial sectors as well.

China’s robot rental market was worth more than CNY1 billion (USD140 million) in 2025, according to sources. With platforms like Qingtian Rent entering the picture, the market is expected to reach at least CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) next year.

The robot rental boom can be traced back to earlier this year, when Unitree Robotics’ robot performance at the Chinese New Year Gala drew widespread attention, briefly pushing daily rental rates for humanoid robots to tens of thousands of Chinese yuan, equivalent to thousands of US dollars.

However, the hype quickly cooled as companies like Unitree and Shanghai-based AgiBot ramped up mass production. Daily rental prices for mainstream models have fallen back to between CNY3,000 (USD426) and CNY5,000, making it much harder for rental companies to land contracts.

Editor: Kim Taylor