Sany invests US$4.3bn in R&D as it bets on AI-native future

Sany’s SY750H has a 377kW Isuzu diesel-powered engine (Image: Sany)

The announcement was made at the company’s 20th Technology Festival. The figure of RMB 30 billion is approximately 5% of its annual sales revenue and is the same amount that the company had invested over the last five years.

Sany said that its previous investment had fuelled the launch of over 1,000 new products, with more than half targeting international markets.

According to a press release, the focus for Sany is shifting from ‘AI+’ – the practice of adding sensors to existing machinery – to ‘AI-native,’ where AI is treated as foundational infrastructure, similar to electricity.

“AI-native means restructuring the entire technology system from the bottom up, using data as the primary driver,” said Li Hongwei, Director of Sany’s R&D Headquarters.

Automation and electrification were also key areas covered at the company’s 20th Technology Festival. Sany said that in 2025 its new energy equipment sales reached RMB 8.64 billion (US$1.2 billion) and that the company now claims 100% self-developed ‘Core Three’ power systems – batteries, electric drives, and controls – allowing it to bypass traditional component bottlenecks.

Regarding automation, it said that it was moving beyond individual machines to “unmanned swarms” and said that on the Beijing-Harbin Expressway it recently set an industry record with a fully autonomous paving and rolling fleet that operated continuously for 20 days.