Experts Say Demand for Humanoids Lags Capacity to Build Them - Manufacturing.net

Experts Say Demand for Humanoids Lags Capacity to Build Them

Morgan Stanley estimates the market is worth $5 trillion.

Chan Ho-Him

Olivia Zhang

Jun 8, 2026

Workers assemble robot at the LY iTech Beijing Super Factory for Embodied Artificial Intelligence during a media tour in the Beijing E-Town on the outskirts of Beijing on May 29, 2026.

AP Photo/Andy Wong

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese-made humanoid robots are making waves with their ability to do backflips, direct traffic, and even make coffee as the companies developing them seek ways to expand and dominate the market. Of the more than 13,000 humanoid robots shipped in 2025, AGIBOT and Unitree, two of China's leading robotics companies, each shipped over 5,000, while U.S. rivals like Figure AI and Tesla each shipped a few hundred or less, according to Omdia.

Morgan Stanley expects China's humanoid sales to more than double this year to around 28,000 units. Omdia forecasts that annual shipments of advanced robots could surpass 1 million units by the early 2030s.

Some robot makers say they are already profitable. Unitree said it made 1.7 billion yuan (around $250 million) in revenue last year, with a profit of over 278 million yuan ($41 million). ### Robot makers say real-life demand is growing

The Shanghai-based startup Matrix Robotics makes humanoid robots that employ AI. Its flagship humanoid robot, the "MATRIX-3," stands nearly 5.6 feet (1.7 meters) tall and is equipped with hands able to make finely controlled movements. They are priced at around $99,000 per unit.

Customers for the roughly 1,000 orders it has received include coffee chains and hotels, its founder and CEO Allan Zhang, who formerly worked for Tesla, said at a recent robotics expo in Macao.

So far, Matrix has made only a few hundred of the robots, though it said it will be capable of delivering 5,000 units within this year, depending on the number of orders.