Can the US Catch Up as China Controls 90% of Humanoid Robot Shipments?

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Chinese companies accounted for nearly 90% of global humanoid robot shipments during ’25.

Last year, both Unitree and AgiBot shipped more than 10,000 robots combined. This is far ahead of every other manufacturer.

Tesla, Figure AI and Agility Robotics each shipped about 150 units. This reflects how early the US market still is.

Global humanoid robot shipments surpassed 14,500 in ’25. It is anticipated that by 2030, they could reach mass adoption.

China dominated global sales during the last year. It covered 90% of total sales. Early deployments are largely for research and industrial purposes, such as developing advanced robotic technologies and testing their capabilities in controlled environments. Their applications may soon break into wider retail uses and household tasks, such as assisting with shopping, cleaning, and providing customer service in stores.

Based on data from multiple sources through Rest of World, graphical rankings reflect the industry expansion of companies shipping the world’s humanoid robots.

Top companies by humanoid robot sales in ‘25

The table reproduced below ranks humanoid robot shipments by company during ’25. It highlights which firms are leading the early commercialisation of this emerging technology.

 

Company Units Sold 2025 Country
Unitree 5,500 🇨🇳 China
AgiBot 5,168 🇨🇳 China
UBTECH 1,000 🇨🇳 China
Leju Robotics 500 🇨🇳 China
Engine AI 400 🇨🇳 China
Fourier Intelligence 300 🇨🇳 China
Figure AI 150 🇺🇸 U.S.
Agility Robotics 150 🇺🇸 U.S.
Tesla 150 🇺🇸 U.S.
Others 1,350 🌍 N/A

 

Unitree ranks globally first with 5,500 units sold during ’25. That is up 367% from around 1,500 a year earlier.

Moreover, Unitree’s models stand out among the world’s most advanced and affordable. For instance, its cheapest R1 model costs a mere USD 5,900. This is while the company also sells robot dogs for USD 1,600.

Competitor AgiBot followed next with 5,168 units sold. Its lowest-cost model stands at USD 14,500. China introduced 21 new models overall during ’25. This amounts to a 700% growth from a mere 3 just 4 years back in ’22.

Elon Musk projects that humanoid robots may outnumber the human population within the next 14 years, by 2040. Tesla’s rollout has been markedly slower. During ’25, it shipped 150 of its Optimus models, with public sales forecast to commence in ’27.

Likewise, other leading U.S. companies, Figure AI and Agility Robotics, each shipped about the same volume. Despite limited deliveries so far, Figure AI has soared to a USD 29 billion valuation, surging 1,115% from a mere USD 2.6 billion two years ago in ’24.

Can the US Catch Up as China Controls 90% of Humanoid Robot Shipments?

Deep supply chains of China

China’s Yangtze River delta holds the world’s most vertically integrated supply chain for humanoid robotics.

Unitree and AgiBot are based in this region. It is also home to several leading suppliers of robotic parts. This cluster also includes DeepSeek and Alibaba, who recently launched an AI model specifically for robotics.

Furthermore, the region’s status as a hub for EV manufacturing acts as a crucial driving force for the manufacturing process. Similar to automobiles, humanoids also require thousands of precision components. In many cases, EV actuators and gears can be repurposed for humanoid robotics production, which can lead to cost savings and efficiency improvements in the manufacturing process.

Presently, China controls about 26% of the global actuator market. In comparison, the U.S. accounts for only about 5% of the global actuator market.

The manufacture of humanoid robots depends heavily on critical minerals and rare earth elements. These are materials that China tends to dominate, driving roughly 60% of global production. When combined, these supply chain advantages tend to benefit China with a structural edge when scaling these emerging technologies, allowing them to lead in the development and deployment of humanoid robots in various industries.

In 2026, humanoid robots have shifted from lab curiosities to deployed workers, with global shipments surging. Last year alone, 13,317 units shipped worldwide, according to Omdia data. Chinese manufacturers dominate actual volume, proving they are “moving” the most robots into factories, warehouses, and service roles right now.

While China leads today’s shipment race through speed and affordability, US companies bet on superior AI integration for tomorrow’s general-purpose workforce, believing that this focus will enable them to create more advanced and versatile robots that can perform a wider range of tasks effectively. The humanoid revolution is accelerating—driven by those already moving thousands of robots into action.

Roshan Abayasekara
Roshan Abayasekara
Was seconded by Sri Lankan blue chip conglomerate - John Keells Holdings (JKH) to its fully owned subsidiary - Mackinnon Mackenzie Shipping (MMS) in 1995 as a Junior Executive. MMS, in turn, allocated Roshan to its then principal, P&O Containers regional office for container management in the South Asia region. P&O Containers employed British representatives whom Roshan then understudied. During the ‘90s, Roshan relocated to Dubai, UAE, where Roshan specialised in logistics. More recently, Roshan acquired a Merit award in a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration from the University of Northampton, UK.

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