Humanoid robot sales tally hit 7,000 globally last year
AMSTERDAM, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Around 7,000 humanoid robots were sold worldwide last year for industrial and professional service use, figures compiled by the International Federation of Robotics showed.
Key takeaways
- In September 2026, the humanoid‑robot sector is accelerating across multiple fronts.
- Apptronik raised $520 million in February, valuing its Apollo robot at about $5 billion; the robot is already being piloted at Mercedes‑Benz factories for tote delivery and material handling.
- Agility Robotics unveiled Digit 5, a new safety‑oriented model that can autonomously stop or crouch to avoid people, lift up to 50 pounds, and run for 20 hours on a 90‑minute charge using Nvidia’s Thor IGX chip.
- The company expects customers to receive early access in the first half of 2027, with general availability by year‑end.
- Boston Dynamics opened its Robotics Metaplant Application Center in Waltham on 21 September, using Atlas robots to train for manufacturing tasks.
AMSTERDAM, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Around 7,000 humanoid robots were sold worldwide last year for industrial and professional service use, figures compiled by the International Federation of Robotics showed.
The relatively small number contrasts with forecasts for a boom in the coming years, particularly in China, the world's largest market for industrial robots, which last month showcased humanoid running and boxing at its robot games.
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To qualify as humanoid under the IFR's criteria, a robot must have a human-like appearance and operate autonomously in an environment designed for humans. Legs are not required. Bank of America Global Research estimates that 90,000 humanoid robots will be shipped this year and 1.2 million by 2030. The IFR's tally is based on supplier and national industry association data, and excludes consumer and military humanoid robots, while medical robots are classified separately.
Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Alexander Smith
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Bieller said that among humanoids sold in 2025, many were not doing productive work but were bought by research institutions or companies using them to generate data for improving AI models.
Carmakers, key early adopters, are running pilots with "single-digit or sometimes double-digit numbers of robots in their plants," Bieller said.
IFR has compiled robotics statistics for three decades, and has begun collecting humanoid data alongside its much larger industrial robot and service robot figures for the first time.
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