Report Date: March 2026

As global manufacturing enters a critical phase of autonomy and intelligence, Midea Group has emerged as a benchmark in smart manufacturing with its full-scenario industrial agent layout. It not only drives efficiency and quality upgrades in its own production system but also delivers replicable AI manufacturing solutions to the industry, propelling "AI + Manufacturing" from single-point pilots to large-scale implementation.

1. Strategic Implementation: M.IoT AIGC 3.1 Platform + Full-Scenario Agent Matrix

In January 2026, Midea’s digital tech subsidiary M.IoT officially launched the M.IoT AIGC 3.1 Platform and Intelligent Factory Solution, building an industrial agent matrix covering the entire value chain—R&D, manufacturing, supply chain, marketing, and management—with 158 core application scenarios deployed to deeply integrate AI technology into manufacturing processes.

Unlike traditional automation upgrades, Midea’s industrial agents are positioned as "self-executable digital employees" with real-time perception, autonomous decision-making, and dynamic optimization capabilities. On the manufacturing floor, TPM and mold agents enable predictive equipment failure alerts and real-time process optimization, boosting production line OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) by 30% and doubling equipment inspection efficiency. In the supply chain, agents unify end-to-end data across orders, production, and logistics, cutting delivery cycles by 39% and inventory turnover days by 30%, easing inventory backlogs and delivery pressures for manufacturers.

2. Performance Verification: From Lights-Out Factories to Full-Scale Digital Intelligence

Backed by its industrial agent system, multiple Midea factories have upgraded from "automated" to "autonomous" operations. Take Midea’s Shunde Kitchen & Bath Lights-Out Factory as an example: 284 automated devices and 16 production lines are connected to the intelligent agent scheduling system. AGVs handle material transport autonomously, robotic arms perform precise assembly, and the 8-million-unit annual output facility runs with just 15 engineers on duty, down from a 100-plus-person team.

Data from Midea’s benchmark upgraded factories shows 48% shorter product development cycles, 45% higher production efficiency, 21% lower production costs, and 15% lower operating costs, achieving triple gains in quality, cost reduction, and efficiency. Midea has also extended its agent technology to high-end manufacturing scenarios such as photovoltaics, energy storage, and auto parts, adapting to multi-category, flexible production needs and expanding the boundaries of smart manufacturing.

3. Industry Empowerment: Exporting Solutions to Drive Industrial Upgrading

Beyond its own digital transformation, Midea, via M.IoT, exports industrial agent solutions to SMEs across home appliances, 3C, automotive, and equipment manufacturing. To address SMEs’ pain points of affordability and implementation barriers, Midea offers lightweight agent modules that lower computing and deployment costs, enabling rapid digital and intelligent line upgrades.

Industry insiders note that Midea’s industrial agent model breaks down barriers between AI technology and manufacturing scenarios, translating lab innovations into production line results. It aligns with the MIIT’s Action Plan for "AI + Manufacturing" goal of launching 1,000 high-level industrial agents, providing a Chinese model for the intelligent transformation of global manufacturing.

4. Future Layout: Deepening AI + Manufacturing to Build Ecological Barriers

In 2026, Midea will increase R&D investment in industrial agents, expanding applications such as AI visual inspection, digital twin, and predictive maintenance, and advancing the integration of general and industry-specific large models. The group also plans to partner with universities and industrial chain partners to build a smart manufacturing ecosystem platform, sharing computing power, data, and algorithm resources to evolve industrial agents from single-point applications to full-ecosystem collaboration and solidify its leading position in smart manufacturing