TL;DR
Chinese manufacturers shipped 90% of global humanoid robots in 2025, with Unitree and Agibot leading at 5,500 and 5,168 units respectively.
Key Points
- 13,000-18,000 humanoid robots sold globally in 2025; 90% from Chinese vendors
- Unitree (5,500 units) and Agibot (5,168 units) outsold Tesla's production by wide margins
- Top three Western competitors (Figure AI, Agility Robotics, Tesla) each sold ~150 units
- Chinese advantage driven by state policy support, mature supply chains, and local component sourcing
Why It Matters
China's early dominance in humanoid robotics mirrors its EV market strategy and could establish lasting competitive advantages in AI hardware integration and manufacturing scale. Western companies face pressure to differentiate on software/autonomy rather than volume to remain competitive in what could become a $5 trillion market by 2050.
Source: restofworld.org