The humanoid robot sector has suddenly become lively! Morgan Stanley recently dropped a bombshell by releasing a report titled “Humanoid Robots 100: Mapping the Value Chain of Humanoid Robots,” which lists the top humanoid robot companies globally, with 35 Chinese enterprises successfully making the cut! This number ties with the 35 companies from North America, showcasing the impressive performance of Chinese companies in this future technology field.
🌎 Is the Global Robot Landscape Set?
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Morgan Stanley has taken a rigorous approach, systematically organizing 100 core publicly listed companies in the global humanoid robot industry. Let’s take a look at the landscape of this “world”:
- China: 35 companies, accounting for 35%
- United States and Canada: 35 companies, accounting for 35%
- Other Asia-Pacific regions (mainly South Korea and Japan): 18 companies, accounting for 18%
- Europe, Middle East, and Africa: 12 companies, accounting for 12%
What does this data tell us? China and the United States are undoubtedly the “twin stars” of this sector! Each has its strengths – China excels in hardware supply, while the United States is superior in software technology. Although South Korea and Japan have accumulated robot technology, their recent development momentum is clearly lagging behind that of China and the U.S. As for Europe? To be honest, their performance has been somewhat tepid, seemingly slow to react to this wave of humanoid robot enthusiasm.
🧠 Analyzing the “Body Structure” of Humanoid Robots
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This report is quite interesting as it divides the humanoid robot industry into three main segments: “Brain,” “Body,” and “Integrators”.
The “Brain” segment includes 22 companies, primarily providing semiconductors and software to equip robots with “intelligent brains.” China has 3 companies listed in this field: Baidu, TSMC, and Horizon Robotics, mainly involved in wafer foundry, foundational models, and semiconductor vision technology. This proportion is indeed low, indicating that we still have a long way to go in core AI technology.
The “Body” segment is a strong point for Chinese companies, with 24 Chinese enterprises listed, the highest proportion! This includes companies like EVE Energy, CATL, Sunrise Group, Shuanglin Technology, Topband, Sanhua Intelligent Controls, Inovance Technology, Green Harmonics, and Foxconn, covering products such as electronic components, batteries, actuators, motors, and sensors. This is closely tied to our strong manufacturing foundation, as years of accumulation in the hardware field have finally borne fruit.
In the “Integrators” segment, China also performs excellently, with 10 companies selected, including UBTECH, GAC Group, Xpeng Motors, BYD, Xiaomi Group, Alibaba, Tencent, Estun Automation, Midea, and Foxconn. Notably, among pure humanoid robot manufacturers, China’s UBTECH has successfully made the list, which is quite rare globally.
📈 How Big is the Potential of the Chinese Robot Market?
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According to Morgan Stanley’s predictions, the prospects for China’s humanoid robot market are quite promising:
- By 2030, the market size of humanoid robots in China is expected to reach 12 billion RMB, with sales reaching 1.5 million units.
- By 2050, the market size will skyrocket to 6 trillion RMB, with sales reaching 59 million units.
What does this mean? From 12 billion to 6 trillion, a 500-fold increase over 25 years! This growth rate is absolutely rocket-level. Moreover, data from the State Administration for Market Regulation shows that by the end of December 2024, there will be 451,700 intelligent robot industry enterprises nationwide, with a total registered capital of 64,445.57 billion RMB. The foundation of this industry is already quite solid.
🚀 Is Guangdong Becoming the “New Silicon Valley” for Humanoid Robots?
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In this list, companies from Guangdong stand out, especially in the “Body” and “Integrators” segments. BYD, GAC Group, and Xpeng Motors represent the automotive sector’s strength, while Tencent is a representative of internet giants, along with Zhaowei Electromechanical, Inovance Technology, and UBTECH, known as the “first stock” of humanoid robots.
Why have Guangdong enterprises been able to excel in the humanoid robot field? I believe there are several key factors:
1. Clear advantages in the industrial chain
Take UBTECH, for example; it has become the humanoid robot company with the most entries into automotive factory training globally. In 2023, UBTECH’s industrial humanoid robots first trained at the NIO factory in Hefei, and later entered factories like Dongfeng Liuzhou, Geely, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, BYD, and Foxconn to “work.” This rapid industrial application is inseparable from Guangdong’s complete industrial support system.
2. Significant improvement in localization rate
Cold Xiaokun, chairman of Shenzhen Leju Robotics, revealed a surprising change: when they made their first large-sized humanoid robot in 2018, the cost was nearly 3 million RMB, with a localization rate of less than 10%, relying entirely on imported core components. Now, their robot’s localization rate has reached 90%, with a price of only several hundred thousand RMB. This tremendous progress is a result of the continuous development of the robot industry chain in Guangdong and across the country.
3. Diverse application scenarios
Shenzhen’s Zhongqing humanoid robots have already been able to walk on the streets before this year’s Spring Festival, earning the nickname “the robot that walks most like a human” from netizens. UBTECH has also shifted from consumer-grade robots to industrial scenarios, applying humanoid robots in new industrialization fields, not only in automotive factories but also entering logistics and precision intelligent manufacturing in the 3C sector.
🔍 Opportunities and Challenges Coexist
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Despite the achievements China has made in the humanoid robot field, there are still some challenges:
1. Core technology gaps still exist
With only 3 Chinese companies listed in the “Brain” segment, it indicates that there are still gaps in core technologies such as AI algorithms and chip design. Particularly, the reliance on imported high-end chips may affect industrial development in certain cases.
2. Ethical controversies surrounding humanoid robots
As humanoid robot technology develops, the debate over whether they will lead to mass unemployment is increasing. Some factories have already replaced 50% of assembly line workers with robots, sparking intense discussions on both sides. The EU even plans to legislate requiring humanoid robots to be equipped with “behavior-limiting chips,” while relevant regulations in China are still in a blank state.
3. Immature business models
The commercialization of humanoid robots is still in its early stages, and finding truly valuable application scenarios to achieve scalable commercial implementation remains an important issue facing the industry.
💡 Future Outlook
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Despite the challenges, the future of China’s humanoid robot industry remains promising:
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Policy dividends continue to be released, with the Ministry of Finance considering VAT exemptions for domestic humanoid robot companies, and the market size is expected to exceed 1 trillion by 2026.
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New job opportunities are constantly emerging, with a surge in demand for positions such as robot operation engineers and AI trainers, bringing new vitality to the talent market.
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As technology advances and costs decrease, humanoid robots will enter more households and enterprises, becoming new productivity and life assistants.
Seeing Morgan Stanley’s report, I can’t help but feel that China’s rapid rise in the humanoid robot field is the result of years of continuous investment in manufacturing and technological innovation. From the 35 Chinese companies on the list, we can see that Chinese enterprises are gradually transforming from “followers” to “co-runners,” and even becoming “leaders” in certain niche areas.
In the face of this wave of humanoid robot enthusiasm, which Chinese company are you most looking forward to standing out and becoming a global leader? In which fields do you think humanoid robots will first achieve large-scale commercial applications?
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