A fierce global competition in the rapidly developing humanoid robot market escalated this week after a prominent U.S. CEO publicly accused a Chinese rival of faking a significant mass delivery of robots using computer-generated imagery.
Brett Adcock, CEO of Figure AI, made the allegations against UBTECH Robotics on the social media platform X, challenging the authenticity of a video released by the Shenzhen-based company. Adcock claimed the video depicted a “fake” mass delivery of UBTECH’s Walker S2 humanoid robots.
The Figure AI chief pointed to inconsistencies in reflections on the robots shown in the UBTECH video. He suggested specific reflections on ceiling lights were a giveaway for CGI.
Adcock posted directly to his followers, urging them to compare reflections on the robot in the foreground with those behind it. He asserted the front robot was real, but the others were not.
Look at the reflections on this bot, then compare them to the ones behind it. The bot in front is real – everything behind it is fake
If you see a head unit reflecting a bunch of ceiling lights, that’s a giveaway it’s CGI pic.twitter.com/3S9mUQLD2q— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) November 13, 2025
UBTECH Robotics quickly countered the accusations, publishing a direct response just hours later. The company released a new, seemingly unedited video on its corporate account.
The drone-captured footage shows a continuous sweep between rows of hundreds of Walker S2 robots, aligned in a large industrial facility.
The accompanying message from UBTECH stated, “They said it looked too perfect to be real, but perfection isn’t fabricated—it’s meticulously engineered. This is the historic mass delivery of UBTECH (优必选) Walker S2. The next era of intelligent manufacturing is here.”
They said it looked too perfect to be real.
But perfection isn’t fabricated—it’s delicately engineered.
This is the historic mass delivery of UBTECH (优必选) Walker S2.
The next era of intelligent manufacturing is here.
Let’s build it together!#WalkerS2 #HumanoidRobots #UBTECH #IntelligentManufacturing pic.twitter.com/aFzjw4qM0g— UBTECH Robotics (@UBTECHRobotics) November 14, 2025
The controversy targets a significant commercial claim by UBTECH. The company recently announced the first mass delivery of industrial humanoid robots, stating hundreds of Walker S2 units were sent to partners.
This delivery marks a crucial step toward fulfilling UBTECH’s 2025 order plan, which exceeds $113 million.
Adcock’s public accusations question the very authenticity of UBTECH’s hardware and its stated production capabilities.
This is not the first instance of Adcock using his public platform to aggressively criticize competitors. His philosophy advocating for total autonomy in robots has often put him at odds with other companies in the sector.
He previously described human teleoperation strategies, like those used by 1X, as irrelevant and misleading. Adcock also accused 1X of publishing fake videos.
In another public discussion, Adcock predicted Agility Robotics would face bankruptcy within a year, citing what he called inadequate engineering choices.
While previous criticisms focused on technical strategies or financial viability, the accusation of CGI use against UBTECH marks an escalation. It highlights the increasingly combative nature of the global race to mass-produce humanoid robots.