Investing.com– Stocks Ubtech Robotics Corp Ltd (HK: ) rose sharply on Wednesday after the company and the electronics giant Hon Hai Precision Industry (TW:), also known as Foxconn (SS:), said they would collaborate on the development of humanoid robots.
Ubtech rose 10.5% to HK$52.60 in Hong Kong trade, greatly outperforming the benchmark index’s 0.1% gain.
The company and Foxconn said they will form a long-term partnership aimed at developing humanoid robots for the manufacturing sector, Chinese media reported.
Ubtech specializes in humanoid robots, and is set to go public in 2023 with investments from Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK: ) and ICBC. The partnership with Foxconn is likely to leverage the company’s expertise in robotics with the Taiwanese giant’s electronics manufacturing capabilities.
Shares of Foxconn fell 1.7% in trading in Taiwan on Wednesday. The company is the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer and is a key supplier to technology giants such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ: ) and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: ).
The news of the partnership comes as Foxconn tries to diversify into a number of different electronics sectors. During the last year, the company started a campaign in the crowded market of electric vehicles.
Humanoid robots have also come into the spotlight over the past year, particularly after electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: ) unveiled its Optimus prototype. There is a special focus on combining artificial intelligence and robotics.
