ust posted to my Forbes column with a reality check on humanoid robots — where they actually are today, and who’s really shipping them at scale.
In this piece, I dig into new Omdia data showing that only about 13,000 humanoid robots shipped globally last year — but that number is forecast to nearly double every year for the next decade, hitting 2.6 million by 2035. Right now, the market is heavily dominated by China, with just two companies accounting for the majority of deliveries. The U.S., by contrast, is trailing badly on volume — but that turns out to be more strategy than failure.
American companies like Figure, Tesla, Agility Robotics, and others are prioritizing capability, autonomy, and real-world usefulness over rushing units out the door. That includes things like charging systems, manufacturing infrastructure, and actual deployment in real workplaces. It’s a slower path, but likely a healthier one for a market that’s still extremely young — and still evolving fast.