Chinese manufacturers have become the dominant force in the humanoid robotics industry. According to Omdia data, the top six brands in terms of shipments are all from China, namely, Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhiyuan Robot"), Yitu Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Yitu Technology"), Youb津, Lejue Robot, Zhongqing Robot, and Fuliye.
Among them, Zhiyuan Robotics has a global market share of 39% with an annual shipment volume of more than 5,100 units, ranking first in the world in terms of shipment volume and market share; Yutu Technology followed closely behind with a shipment volume of 4,200 units, accounting for a combined 71% of the market share. Omdia expects that the humanoid robot market will experience exponential growth in the next 10 years, and the global shipment volume is expected to reach 26 million units by 2035.
Member of the China Robot CR Education and Training Standard Committee, Wei Guohong, told China Securities Daily that at present, the domestic humanoid robot market has a significant head effect, barriers have initially formed, among which the "first echelon" of Zhiyuan Robots and Yustar Technology has formed a significant market and brand barrier. This highly concentrated pattern indicates that at the initial stage of industry outbreak, the degree of technology integration, product maturity and the speed of commercialization have become the key to competition.
In the view of Wang Haoyu, CEO of Mai Rui Asset Management Co., Ltd., the top six manufacturers of humanoid robots in terms of shipments last year were all from China, which was by no means a coincidence. This reflects that the domestic humanoid robot industry has already possessed a complete manufacturing supply chain and a strong industrial ecology. Enterprises in different links of the industrial chain are deeply cultivating in different subdivided scenarios, forming synergy and complementarity with leading enterprises, and jointly building overall advantages, forming a cluster-style breakthrough.
AI technology is becoming the core engine for the advancement of the humanoid robotics industry. TrendForce, a consulting firm, predicts that the core driving forces of the humanoid robot market in 2026 will focus on two major directions: AI adaptive technology and scenario application-oriented. AI adaptive technology will enable robots to have real-time learning and dynamic decision-making capabilities in unstructured environments.
In Wang Haoyu's view, the next step, the technological breakthrough of embodied intelligence large models is particularly critical, but it also faces the challenge of lack of training data. At present, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places are intensively deploying embodied intelligence data collection centers to provide core support for the breakthrough of large models.
2026年, the humanoid robot industry is expected to officially enter the critical stage of large-scale commercialization.
The capacity layout of major leading enterprises has been gradually implemented. For example, a relevant person in charge of Zhiyuan Robotics told the "Securities Daily" reporter: "We expect that the company's shipments of humanoid robots will increase manifold in 2026. To this end, the company plans to expand its capacity accordingly. Humanoid robots are rapidly landing in the industrial and commercial fields."
Wei Guohong believes that with the continuous decline in supply chain costs, the continuous expansion of application scenarios, and the continuous breakthrough of technology, humanoid robots will truly enter a new stage of large-scale commercial application in 2026.
Open source securities analysis believes that the humanoid robot industry will complete the transition from "0-1" to "1-10" by 2025, with the core driving force being "technological convergence"; looking ahead to 2026, the industry will break through the key inflection point of "1-10" and move towards large-scale "10-100" commercialization, with the core theme switching to "mass production and commercialization acceleration".
The High-tech Robot Industry Research Institute (GGII) predicts that the domestic humanoid robot industry will enter a phase of large-scale volume in 2026, with an expected shipment volume of 62,500 units. Meanwhile, multiple fields such as AR, semiconductors, AI computing hardware, high-end manufacturing, and chip materials will also accelerate key breakthroughs.
"2026 could be the year of delivery for humanoid robots," said Feng Zhenyu, CEO of Sichuan Embodied Humanoid Robot Technology Co., Ltd.
