China Seizes Absolute Leadership in the Humanoid Robot Market

According to a new analytical report published by financial holding company Morgan Stanley, Chinese manufacturers are supplying nearly 97% of humanoid robots delivered worldwide in 2026. This figure highlights the enormous gap with other countries and shows that competitors currently hold only a very small share of the market. This dominance is explained not only by production speed but also by the advanced development of the entire industrial ecosystem. Ixbt.com reports it.

According to the data, in the previous year, 2025, Chinese companies also supplied nearly 90% of the 13,000 to 16,000 humanoid robots delivered worldwide. At the same time, most manufacturers in the United States, Japan and other countries were still found to be at the prototype testing stage. Leaders in the Chinese market, meanwhile, have launched mass production on a scale that foreign competitors have not even dreamed of.

Industrial Scale and Leading Companies

Among Chinese manufacturers, Zhiyuan and Unitree stand out clearly. In particular, Zhiyuan alone delivered nearly 5,100 devices in 2025, accounting for almost two-fifths of the global total. By comparison, the well-known American companies Figure, Tesla and Agility each managed to deliver only a few hundred robots.

According to Morgan Stanley estimates, the largest Chinese manufacturer shipped approximately 36 times more machines to customers than comparable American companies. This enormous scale is not limited to assembling the final product. More than half of the world's 100 leading suppliers of reducers, servomechanisms and vision sensors are located in China.

Funding and Practical Applications

Domestic component production allows local companies to obtain parts faster and significantly reduce assembly costs. At the same time, Chinese companies are actively attracting capital. By early 2026, China accounted for nearly half of global venture funding in humanoid robotics. Unitree successfully completed listing procedures on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, while the government has designated this area as a priority industry.

The first practical applications are also beginning within the country. In particular, automaker BYD plans to use humanoid robots in its car dealerships. Nevertheless, delivery volumes do not directly indicate the technology's maturity: many Chinese robots are better at walking, dancing and demonstrating preprogrammed movements than at performing consistently useful work. However, production scale provides a significant advantage in collecting operational data, reducing costs faster and strengthening relationships with suppliers. The United States, meanwhile, continues to maintain strong positions in developing the artificial intelligence that controls robots.