Nvidia CEO says US robotics still relies on China supply chain

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the US robotics industry will still depend on China’s supply chain for key components, even as the US helped pioneer the industry.

Speaking on a podcast recorded at Nvidia’s GTC event in San Jose, Huang cited China’s strengths in microelectronics, motors, rare earths, and magnets as core inputs for robots.

He said the US “largely invented” robotics but got “tired and exhausted” before the rise of enabling AI systems that serve as the “brain” for machines.

His comments come as interest rises in embodied AI, and Unitree Robotics, a China-based maker of humanoid robots, has filed for an IPO on Shanghai’s Star Market seeking to raise 4.2 billion yuan, or about US$609 million.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

China’s dominance comes from processing, downstream manufacturing, and mining

China mined about 69% of the world’s rare earth ore in 2023, yet its power comes from processing and later value chain steps 1.
It makes 85% of purified light rare earths. It makes 100% of heavy rare earths. It supplies over 90% of rare earth permanent magnets (high-strength magnets used in electric motors and other equipment) 1, 2.
Mountain Pass (a rare-earth mining and processing site in California) is the only significant U.S. mine with separation. It ships much of its ore to China for processing, which creates a bottleneck 2.
Beijing has tightened export controls. Rest of World (a global technology publication) said the move led some European parts plants to shutter and Suzuki to halt production 3.

The US leads AI software, China scales robot hardware

Unitree Robotics connects AI with mass hardware production, an area where U.S. supply chains rely on China 4.
Unitree is profitable. It said it shipped 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025. It reported gross margin near 60% in 2025 plus adjusted net profit of about 600 million yuan excluding non-recurring items 5, 6.
It aims for scale with lower-priced machines such as the G1 humanoid robot. The G1 launched at 99,000 yuan. Unitree expects faster iteration from real-world data 5.
Western automakers are trying to remove dependence on Chinese rare earths. IDTechEx (a market research firm focused on emerging technologies) expects about 70% of passenger EVs will still use rare earth-based motors by 2035 3.