Chinese firms led global humanoid robot shipments in 2025

Chinese companies shipped most of the 13,000 humanoid robots delivered worldwide in 2025, according to research firm Omdia.

Omdia said startups like Shanghai AgiBot Innovation Technology, Unitree Robotics, and UBTech Robotics led production, with AgiBot shipping about 5,200 units.

This volume far exceeded shipments from US firms such as Tesla and Figure AI.

Omdia reported that global humanoid robot sales rose more than fivefold from 2024.

Chinese robots are generally cheaper, with Unitree’s entry-level model priced at US$6,000, and AgiBot’s scaled-down version at US$14,000, while Tesla’s planned models are expected to cost between US$20,000 and US$30,000.

Omdia noted that China’s production is supported by policies and infrastructure, and the number of humanoid robot firms in the country now exceeds 150.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Many 2025 Chinese humanoid shipments may be pilots, not proven deployments

About 13,000 humanoids shipped in 2025, with China supplying most 1. Vendors rarely say if these placements were paid contracts or pilots, which muddies market validation.
AgiBot placed units in reception and entertainment 2. Deployments also reached manufacturing, logistics, and security. Sources omit utilization, task success, and customer retention, which blocks a clear view of ROI (return on investment) beyond first buys.
Global sales grew more than fivefold from 2024 1. That surge may come from early trials, as China hosts over 150 humanoid firms 1 and policymakers warn about a bubble.
Chinese models list at US$6,000 to US$14,000 while Tesla has guided to US$20,000 to US$30,000 for Optimus, which is not in full-scale production 1. Buyers still lack public data on upkeep, uptime, or task reliability to size total cost of ownership.

Software developers can build vertical apps for China’s low-cost humanoid robot platforms

Independent software firms plus systems integrators can craft industry apps, fleet tools, and safety layers on Chinese humanoid hardware as platforms mature.
Unitree offers ROS 2 support via SDK2 (software development kit) built on CycloneDDS (an open-source implementation of the Data Distribution Service standard) 3. Developers can read robot state, drive motors, then fuse LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data without hardware expertise.
Shipments may reach 2.6 million by 2035 1. Early movers that back platforms with strong SDKs, active developer programs, and standardized APIs can earn recurring revenue from licenses plus support.