Recent data from a well-known global consulting firm's 2026 Global Humanoid Robot Market Report offers an authoritative overview of the rapidly expanding humanoid robotics industry.

According to the report, global humanoid robot revenue reached USD 540 million in the first half of 2026, already surpassing the full-year total for 2025. Revenue from production operations scenarios in the first half of 2026 grew 65.9% compared to the whole of 2025. The full-size embodied intelligence segment generated USD 260 million in 2025 and USD 320 million in the first half of 2026, accounting for the bulk of industry revenue. Chinese companies swept the global top five, collectively capturing more than half of the market share. UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880), based in Shenzhen, ranked first worldwide in revenue market share across both the humanoid robot and full-size embodied intelligence segments. Overseas leaders such as Optimus and Figure AI did not make the top five in revenue. The report's revenue figures exclude intra-company transactions and other related-party deals that do not represent independent third-party demand.

Chinese Manufacturers Sweep Global Humanoid Robot Market Share

In 2025, the global humanoid robot market sold 35,000 units for the full year, generating USD 500 million in revenue. By the first half of 2026 alone, half-year sales reached 36,000 units with revenue of USD 540 million, already exceeding the full-year 2025 figure. A notable phenomenon: from 2025 through the first half of 2026, the global humanoid robot revenue top five were entirely Chinese manufacturers, together securing over 50% of the market.

Specifically for UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880): In 2025, revenue reached RMB 870 million with 13,838 units shipped and a 24.8% revenue market share, ranking first globally. In the first half of 2026, revenue was RMB 620 million with 16,123 units sold, maintaining the top position. Overseas players such as Tesla's Optimus, Figure AI and Agility have accumulated significant expertise in hardware and foundational embodied algorithms. However, their products largely remain in prototype iteration and small-scale lab pilots, with business skewed toward internal use.

Full-Size Embodied Intelligence Carries Most of Industry Revenue

Many assume full-size embodied intelligence humanoid robots are simply about making machines taller and bigger, but it is far more than that. The report provides a clear definition: full-size embodied intelligence humanoid robots stand at least 160 cm tall, typically with onboard AI computing power of 200 TOPS or more, non-teleoperated and non-preprogrammed. They are a comprehensive product of hardware, motion control, embodied large models, real-machine interaction data and system integration. Their advantage lies in directly adapting to existing factory workstations, with the hardware and software foundation for industrial tasks such as handling, loading and unloading, and assembly.

The data contrast in this segment is striking: In 2025, global sales were 5,300 units with revenue of USD 260 million. In the first half of 2026, sales reached 5,800 units with revenue of USD 324 million, with half-year revenue again exceeding the prior full year. Although unit share is relatively low, it contributes the majority of industry revenue. UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880) continues to lead in this segment: 2025 revenue was RMB 820 million with a 45.1% market share, ranking first globally. In the first half of 2026, revenue reached RMB 590 million, still holding the top spot. AgiBot, Galbot, Star Dynamics and Leju Robotics are among the major participants in this segment.

The report compares leading manufacturers across four dimensions: R&D capability, real-world operational capability, training data quality, and coverage of production-scenario clients. The comparison shows that UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880) stands out in both the breadth and number of production-scenario clients, while Tesla is relatively strong in R&D and data capabilities but mainly serves internal customers.

Diverging Performance Across Four Major Application Scenarios

The report categorizes humanoid robot applications into four main types: entertainment performances, research and education, data collection, and production operations. The entertainment performance market remained generally stable; the research and education market saw a slight decline; data collection volume was largely flat, mainly used to train embodied AI models; and production operations posted the fastest revenue growth among the four.

Looking at the hard numbers: In 2025, production operations humanoid robot sales were 700 units with revenue of USD 47 million. In the first half of 2026, sales reached 1,200 units with revenue of USD 78 million, a half-year revenue surge of 65.9% over full-year 2025. The report notes that production operations have very high barriers, with strict requirements for autonomous operation, work efficiency, stability, safety and long-duration running. The report also outlines five stages of commercialization maturity: technology demonstration, customer pilots, paid deployment, regular operations, and large-scale replication. Whether a robot can handle real production line tasks is the key threshold for humanoid robots to move from demonstration to commercialization.