Goldman Sachs Just Supercharged Its Humanoid Robot Prediction 5X to 6.5 Million by 2035
## Goldman Just Rewrote The Robot Forecast In its recently published 80-page Physical AI report, Goldman Sachs raised its 2035 forecast for humanoid robot shipments to approximately 6.5 million units, up from about 1.4 million previously.
Key takeaways
- In September 2026 a wave of high‑profile announcements underscored the rapid expansion of humanoid robotics.
- NVIDIA unveiled “SONIC,” an AI controller that converts VR, video and natural‑language commands into robot actions, promising to broaden the motion repertoire of humanoids, while related work on “touch‑dreaming” techniques lifted task‑success rates by over 90 percent earlier in the year.
- Goldman Sachs dramatically raised its market outlook, projecting shipments of roughly 6.5 million humanoid robots by 2035—a five‑fold jump from its previous estimate—and valuing the sector at about $138 billion.
- In China, the People’s Liberation Army allocated about $300,000 in June to collect and label sensor data for fielded robots, and Reuters reported that the PLA is urging researchers to accelerate the transition of commercial humanoids into combat roles.
- That push coincided with Xpeng’s release of a video on September 11 showing its IRON humanoid walking off an assembly line unaided, and a Chinese startup, JoyIn, claiming its “Aether” model, built on a perceptive‑control approach, can achieve a 90 percent first‑attempt success rate—a claim it says mirrors OpenAI’s technology.
Goldman Just Rewrote The Robot Forecast
In its recently published 80-page Physical AI report, Goldman Sachs raised its 2035 forecast for humanoid robot shipments to approximately 6.5 million units, up from about 1.4 million previously. That is a nearly fivefold increase. The bank also raised its 2030 forecast from 256,000 to 890,000 units and its 2026 estimate from 51,000 to 75,000.
Goldman now estimates the 2035 humanoid market could be worth roughly $138 billion, compared with its previous $38 billion estimate. The revision reflects faster advances in AI, falling hardware costs, and growing investment in physical automation. ## Quick Read
Artificial intelligence is moving out of the data center and into the physical world. Autonomous vehicles, warehouse robots, and increasingly capable machines are giving AI a body, creating what Goldman Sachs calls “physical AI.” The investment opportunity could be much larger than the market for humanoid robots themselves. Every machine needs processors, memory, sensors, motors, and software, creating a new demand stream for companies already supplying the AI economy.
Goldman Sachs is getting much more confident about that opportunity.
Goldman Just Rewrote The Robot Forecast ## Companies Mentioned
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A detailed shot of several humanoid robots on an assembly line in a bright, modern factory. In the foreground, a robot with a sleek grey and black body, and a visor-like head, uses its dexterous hand to place a blue component onto a white module. Other identical robots are visible in the blurred background, performing similar tasks on parallel lines. The setting is sterile and well-lit, with industrial shelving and a green indicator light visible in the distance. The overall impression is one of precision, advanced technology, and streamlined automation.
Robots Everywhere: Goldman Sachs Now Sees 6.5 Million Humanoid Robots by 2035
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