A paddle-wielding robot is so adept at playing table tennis that it is posing a tough challenge to elite human players and sometimes defeating them, according to a new study in the journal Nature that shows how advances in artificial intelligence are making robots more agile.

BEIJING — It was not even close as a bright red Chinese humanoid named “Lightning” lived up to its name in a half-marathon pitting humans against robots, smoking its competition on Sunday

U.S. humanoid startups are being priced as wide-reaching artificial intelligence platforms, while Chinese ones are seen more as industrial hardware plays, said Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, which regularly brings U.S. investors to visit Chinese startups.

Walker S2 is an adult-sized humanoid robot with legs, a torso, and arms. China is sending these robots to patrol their border with Vietnam.

Millions spent on humanoid robots depend on gig workers recording daily tasks, signaling a shift in AI training and work.