Humanoid Robotics: How to Invest in Potentially $5 Trillion Market - Business Insider

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The latest news and analysis on robotics, from humanoid AI to real-world automation.

The latest news and analysis on robotics, from humanoid AI to real-world automation.

An unmanned F-250 with autonomous software.

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Unitree humanoid

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A prototype of Tesla's Optimus robot. Morgan Stanley predicts that humanoid robotics will be a $5 trillion business by 2050, with more than a billion robots walking the earth. The numbers are a bit less colossal in the near future, but still portend real growth, with Barclays predicting a potential $200 billion humanoid market by 2035.

Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist of $353 billion wealth manager Hightower, said she's recently started investing in the space, and is advising clients to take a closer look. If generative AI is in the third inning and the cybersecurity ripples it's caused are in the second inning, humanoid robots "haven't even stepped into the batter's box," she said.

Generative AI has then been the "nitrous oxide" that's caused the industry to accelerate, Ahern said, and while robots have long changed the face of American manufacturing, AI promises a more autonomous future.

Meanwhile, breakthroughs in battery technology and the actuators and other mechanical components that facilitate movement have caused the price of a humanoid robot to drop nearly 30 times in the last decade, according to Barclays.

Suddenly, the promise of a robot that's more efficient than a human worker comes into view: