Two entrepreneurs from Ningbo, Zhejiang province — Will Semiconductor's Yu Renrong and Unitree Robotics' Wang Xingxing — were among the six private sector leaders sharing their insights at a symposium on fostering the development of China's private economy on Feb 17.

Wang was born in Yuyao, a county-level city in Ningbo, and rose to fame with his innovative work in robotics.

Wang founded Unitree in 2016, and the company quickly gained national attention when its humanoid robots performed at the 2025 CCTV Spring Festival Gala. This was not the first time the company had made waves, as the company's robotic cow "Benben" appeared during the 2021 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

Wang's success lies in his ability to bring cutting-edge robotics to the market at affordable prices. Unitree's quadruped robot, Go1, sold for a fraction of its competitors' prices, allowing the company to dominate nearly 70 percent of the global market for quadruped robots. Last year, the company released the G1 humanoid robot at an astonishingly competitive price at 99,000 yuan ($13,612).

Yu, a low-key figure in the semiconductor industry, has quietly built his fortune through his company, Will Semiconductor.

Born in Zhenhai district, Ningbo, Yu was a top student at Tsinghua University and later worked for several tech companies. In 2007, he founded Will Semiconductor, focusing on the design and development of semiconductor products. His company broke foreign monopolies and rapidly gained a significant share in the global market, especially in the TVS (Transient Voltage Suppressor) diode sector. In 2017, the company went public, and in 2021, its market value surpassed 300 billion yuan, making Yu the wealthiest individual in China's semiconductor industry.

Beyond business success, Yu has made significant contributions to his hometown. In 2020, he decided to fund a new world-class research university in Zhenhai, which is expected to welcome its first students in September.