Beijing-based Galbot launched its first three fully autonomous robot retail stores outside mainland China on August 31, 2026, in Hong Kong, with the outlets set to begin serving customers on Tuesday1,2,3.
The three Galbot Stores, located in Hung Hom, Kai Tak, and Wan Chai, are operated by humanoid robots handling retail tasks in a real-world commercial environment4. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po completed the first transaction at the Kai Tak outlet ahead of the official launch.
The Hong Kong expansion marks a deliberate step toward international markets for the embodied-intelligence robotics company. "This is a genuinely important step for us in going overseas as Hong Kong is an important window and platform for [mainland] China facing the international market," said Zhao Yuli, chief strategy officer of Galbot. Galbot has operated a Hong Kong office since 2024.
Galbot launched its first mainland store last August and has since expanded to about 200 outlets across 50 cities nationwide. The company plans to open about 10 more stores in high-footfall districts of Hong Kong in coming years, according to Zhao.
Galbot founder and chief technology officer Wang He said the opening represented an important step from technological research toward real-world operations, and from the mainland market toward international expansion.
The company hopes to work with Hong Kong universities, research institutions, and industry partners to establish embodied AI laboratories, develop talent, and accelerate commercialization of related technologies.
Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) has been one of Galbot's investors since 2024. HKIC chief executive Clara Chan Ka-chai said the corporation had invested in Galbot as early as two years ago as part of its push to support technology companies with growth potential. HKIC has invested in more than 200 companies to date, with over 70 percent of its mainland and Hong Kong portfolio companies having expanded into overseas markets. Galbot had also attracted investment interest from family offices and sovereign wealth funds.
Paul Chan said at the opening ceremony that Hong Kong could play an "important and unique" role in three areas of the robotics industry: providing a viable application scenario, acting as a sustainable research and development ecosystem, and ensuring a robust supporting capital chain.
ANALYSIS Galbot's Hong Kong launch is the company's first test of its autonomous retail model outside the mainland Chinese market. With roughly 200 stores already operating domestically, the three Hong Kong outlets and planned expansion to 10 more serve as a proving ground for whether the format translates to an international consumer environment. The backing of a government-linked investment corporation and the public endorsement by Hong Kong's finance chief position the city as an explicit gateway for mainland embodied-AI companies seeking overseas traction.