Cathay Pacific Haitong: Accelerated implementation of AI end side focuses on investment opportunities brought by 3C industry chain companies entering the humanoid robot circuit

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Cathay Pacific Haitong released a research report saying that the 3C supply chain benefits from the cyclical recovery of its own industry combined with the growth brought about by the accelerated penetration of AI at the end side. At the same time, the 3C supply chain is highly compatible with humanoid robots, and the “component-module-complete machine” specialized foundry model of the 3C supply chain is expected to be suitable for large-scale mass production of humanoid robots. It is recommended to focus on investment opportunities brought by 3C industry chain companies entering the humanoid robot circuit.

Cathay Pacific Haitong's main views are as follows:

With rapid iterative innovation and large-scale manufacturing capabilities, the 3C supply chain fully embraces humanoid robots.

The development of humanoid robots is still in its infancy. Rapid iteration and innovative application capabilities for new materials, new processes, and new structures have enabled 3C foundries to quickly integrate into the humanoid robot supply chain. With the rapid iteration of humanoid robots, the industrial chain is expected to enter the “parts-module-complete” specialized foundry model after entering the mass production era, and the 3C supply chain still has a strong competitive advantage.

The AI end side is being implemented at an accelerated pace, injecting new growth vitality into the 3C industry.

3C terminals, represented by mobile phones, have entered a recovery cycle as a whole, laying the foundation for industry growth. Along with the continuous improvement of model capabilities, industry giants are driving the accelerated implementation of AI end side to bring new growth to the 3C industry. Since October 2024, Apple has launched Apple Intelligence, an end-side AI assistant. Currently, it is internally speeding up iterative optimization and connecting high-quality external model assistants to improve the user experience. In the future, it is expected to leverage its huge terminal products into a new cycle of switching. With its strong model capabilities and hardware foundation, Google launched a mobile phone product that can run its Gemini Nano model locally.

Meta is also collaborating with Qualcomm and others to optimize the Llama model for Snapdragon chips, so that the phone can run the 3B parameter model smoothly. Domestic Byte launched Doubao AI mobile assistant, showing smooth cross-app operation capability. All AI giants are vying for the biggest end — mobile phones. In addition, giants such as Meta and Ali are also continuing to promote rapid iteration of wearable devices such as AI glasses, which is expected to bring new volume to the overall industry.

Catalyst: Large-scale mass production of robots began, and AI side by side accelerated.

Risk warning: The recovery of 3C terminals fell short of expectations, the AI side fell short of expectations, robot cost reduction and iteration did not go smoothly, and competition in the robotics industry intensified.