The high cost and complexity of commercial robots have long kept them out of reach for most businesses, relegating them to labs and high-budget spectacles. A new platform from Chinese robotics company Zhiyuan seeks to shatter this barrier by applying a familiar on-demand service model to the world of advanced robotics. Announced on December 23, 2025, the "Qingtianzu" platform promises to deliver pre-configured, task-ready robots to customers' doors within one hour, transforming robots from capital-intensive assets into accessible, short-term rentals.
Platform Launch & Core Promise:
- Launch Date: December 23, 2025.
- Core Service Promise: One-hour delivery of rented, pre-configured robots to customer locations.
- Business Model: Aggregator platform connecting manufacturers, rental service providers, and content developers.
- Insurance Partner: People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) provides coverage for rental liabilities and damages.
The "One-Hour" Promise and Its Business Model
Zhiyuan's Qingtianzu platform operates not as a hardware seller, but as an aggregator and facilitator, connecting robot manufacturers, local rental service providers, and content developers. Its core proposition is an ultra-fast fulfillment network modeled after food delivery or ride-hailing apps. By establishing localized "forward deployment" hubs through partnered rental companies, the platform guarantees that a customer in a core urban area can receive a fully functional robot within 60 minutes of placing an order. This radically compresses the traditional rental timeline, which often involves days of logistics, contracts, and on-site setup, effectively turning robot rental into an impulse or last-minute service.
Beyond Hardware: A Full-Stack Service Ecosystem
Understanding that a robot is useless without software, Qingtianzu integrates third-party content providers like "Silicon Ark" to supply pre-loaded skill packages. These range from viral dance routines like the "Subject Three" to functionalities like birthday party hosting or nightclub DJing. This approach ensures the rented robot is not just a mechanical shell but a ready-to-perform asset that delivers immediate entertainment or functional value. To address the critical concern of damage and liability in short-term rentals, the platform has partnered with PICC (People's Insurance Company of China), which provides comprehensive insurance coverage, offering peace of mind to both renters and the network of rental service providers.
Early Adoption and the "Emotional Value" Proposition
Hotpot giant Haidilao served as the platform's inaugural "Order 001" client, providing a clear use case. The motivation was not technological ambition but straightforward customer engagement, particularly for children. As a Haidilao executive noted, while adults see robots as a novelty, children view them as companions. Qingtianzu's model enables the "instant gratification of emotional value," allowing businesses to deploy robot-based entertainment on demand for marketing, events, or customer experience enhancement without the burden of ownership.
Reported Use Case & Target:
- First Major Client: Haidilao (hotpot restaurant chain), used for child entertainment and event hosting.
- Primary Value Proposition: "Instant gratification of emotional value" for marketing and customer experience.
- Growth Target: Aiming to support 200 rental partners achieving over CNY 1 million in annual revenue by 2026.
Strategic Incentives and Growth Ambitions
To rapidly scale its network, Qingtianzu is employing a partner-centric strategy. Instead of building a massive direct sales force, it is incentivizing existing rental channels with profit-sharing and even "partner equity incentives," effectively turning local operators with client relationships into stakeholders. Similarly, it shares revenue with content developers to ensure a steady pipeline of engaging applications. The company has set an ambitious goal of cultivating 200 rental partners with annual revenues exceeding CNY 1 million by 2026, betting that a collaborative ecosystem will drive faster market penetration than a top-down approach.
Challenges on the Road to Mainstream Adoption
Despite the promising model, significant hurdles remain. The famed "one-hour delivery" is currently feasible only in dense urban cores, and expanding this network to second- and third-tier cities will involve substantial logistical and cost challenges. Furthermore, the novelty factor that drives initial interest is perishable. The long-term success of the platform hinges on its ability to foster a vibrant content ecosystem that continuously provides new and useful skills, preventing the robots from becoming stale attractions. There is also the question of whether the primary use case—entertainment—provides a large enough and sustainable enough market to support the platform's vision.
Identified Challenges:
- Network Limitation: "One-hour" service likely restricted to major urban centers initially.
- Content Dependency: Risk of novelty wearing off; requires continuous development of new skills/applications.
- Market Scope: Current focus on entertainment may need to expand to broader functional uses for long-term scale.
A Pragmatic Path to Commercialization
CEO Li Yiyan framed Qingtianzu as the "outpost for robot sales." By placing robots in high-visibility commercial settings like restaurants and malls through affordable, short-term rentals, the platform performs crucial market education. It demonstrates practical utility and builds public familiarity, potentially paving the way for future purchases of more advanced models for industrial or service tasks. In an industry often focused on the distant goal of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Qingtianzu represents a pragmatic, ground-level effort to make existing robotics technology commercially viable today. Its mission is not to speculate about a robotic future but to prove that robots can generate value in the present, one rental at a time.