Overview

• Kaiwa’s founder Zhang Qifeng asserts that artificial womb technology is already mature and plans to embed it in a humanoid surrogate to carry a fetus through an entire pregnancy.
• The company projects a working prototype by 2026 with a retail price around 100,000 yuan, presenting it as a potential lower-cost option to traditional surrogacy.
• Dr Zhang reports that Kaiwa has convened forums and submitted policy proposals to Guangdong provincial authorities to shape legal and regulatory frameworks for the technology.
• No peer-reviewed data or detailed technical disclosures have been released on how gametes would be fertilized and implanted or how the robot would sustain full-term human gestation.
• Researchers and ethicists warn that major scientific hurdles and social concerns remain, including fetal-maternal bonding, child welfare and the broader implications of robotic pregnancy.