Zhu Junfan (front) poses for a photo with other participants at a Saturday Robotics & World Models Reading Club session in San Francisco on May 23. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Zhu Junfan, a Wuxi‑born researcher, has built a fast‑growing cross‑border research network linking robotics innovators in Silicon Valley and China.
What started as casual weekend discussions has evolved into a growing community exploring world models and embodied intelligence — the long‑sought capability for robots to perceive and act naturally in real‑world settings. This grand technical vision is still far from reality.
"I kept seeing a paradox: world models can produce lifelike predictions in simulations and benchmark tests, yet often fail to guide robots to take correct real‑world actions," Zhu said. To tackle this gap, he founded the Saturday Robotics & World Models Reading Club.
Since its launch in March, the club has hosted more than 30 sessions, attracting over 3,700 subscribers to its event listings as of October. Zhu curates research papers, selects speakers and moderates group discussions.
The club has since taken its discussions beyond regular meet-ups, collaborating with startups and corporate research labs on events held alongside major academic conferences. A research night held alongside CVPR 2026 in Denver, Colorado, which the club co-hosted with Hong Kong-listed Manycore Tech, drew more than 600 applications.
"Silicon Valley is where the world's robotics researchers come to compare notes," Zhu said. "Our job is to get the strongest ideas into the same room, wherever they come from, and see which ones hold up outside the lab."
The club has earned wide recognition within the industry. Nan Tian, senior manager of robotics at Samsung Research America, joined club events in several cities and later co‑organized one session. "Saturday Robotics has become a genuine convening point," Nan commented.
The club has held an event in Beijing on the sidelines of the World Robot Conference in August, plus a research night at the IROS robotics conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sept 28.
Zhu Junfan at the Robotics Research Night during the IROS robotics conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sept 28. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Zhu's own academic work focuses on evaluating world‑model AI systems. He tests whether strong performance in simulation and benchmarks can translate into reliable robot behavior in the physical world.
"Before a robot goes into a home or a factory, we should be able to find out where it will fail," Zhu said.
He has co‑authored papers accepted by the journal Scientific Data and NeurIPS 2026, and works as a paper reviewer for top‑tier AI conferences.
Zhu Junfan (first, right) moderates a panel on AI in manufacturing at the Autonomous 2026 conference in San Francisco on July 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
While building the community in the San Francisco Bay Area, Zhu found a surprisingly large group of Wuxi‑born professionals working in AI and robotics. He is launching a volunteer‑run nonprofit network for these overseas talents to share research and startup experiences.
For Zhu, the initiative offers a way to connect the expertise accumulated overseas with opportunities in Wuxi, where manufacturing capabilities and a growing robotics industry could provide a foundation for turning research into practical applications.
Wang Huaitian, one of Zhu's high-school classmates, exemplifies these cross-border ties. While working in AI in Silicon Valley, he founded Novalink, a software and IT services startup back in Wuxi, this May.
Wuxi's local AI sector is seeing robust growth. Its core AI industry reached 43.84 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) in the first half of 2026, marking a 33.4 percent year‑on‑year rise. Intelligent robotics ranks among its priority sectors.
The city's robotics ecosystem is also gaining momentum, with four leading Chinese robotics companies — UBTech, Agibot, Unitree and Galbot — establishing R&D and production bases in Wuxi.
For Zhu, connecting overseas talent with this local ecosystem is a way to bring research, entrepreneurship and manufacturing into closer contact.
The cross-border network is also creating more connections among entrepreneurs. Feng Yue, another Wuxi native, is a longtime co-host of the Saturday robotics club and heads robotics startup Neural Motion.
She assembled her company's founding team through club interactions. The community is scheduled to co‑host a robotics hardware hackathon in San Francisco on Oct 24, extending its activities beyond research discussions toward hands-on development.
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