Building on its success in electric vehicles (EVs), China is now shifting its attention towards humanoid robotics as the next frontier for technological leadership. This transition draws on deep parallels between the supply chains of humanoids and EVs, allowing China to leverage its expertise in batteries, motors and large-scale manufacturing.
11 February 2026
Humanoid investments are ramping up globally
*Data for 2024 ends in October 2024. Source: Accenture; CB Insights
While Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are pursuing task-specific industrial humanoids, Western developers are prioritising high-end, general-purpose models, highlighting diverging strategies in the global humanoid race.
China’s momentum in the sector is underpinned by its formidable strengths in innovation and execution, with an extensive, skilled manufacturing workforce, a focus on cost efficiency, robust government backing, an increasing focus on technology innovation and the capacity for rapid prototyping as well as iteration.
Conversely, Western initiatives are distinguished by leading-edge AI research, advanced systems integration and software development. These complementary capabilities ensure that both regions will play critical, interdependent roles in shaping the humanoid robotics market.
Instead of a simple rivalry, the future could point towards a complex, globally interconnected value chain. It is conceivable that Chinese factories could one day produce hundreds of thousands of humanoid units, each powered by an AI operating system licensed from the US, with a blend of Chinese actuators and American-designed chips. Investors and stakeholders should pay close attention to trends in hardware commoditisation, where China holds a competitive advantage and software or intellectual property development, where Western firms excel.
Given how early humanoid development still is, it remains anyone’s guess how the industry will evolve over the long term. But one thing is clear: China is ready and already at the forefront of humanoid development. With its dominance in hardware manufacturing and continued investments in software and AI, China has the potential to replicate its success in EVs with humanoids.
Andrew Lee is an investment director at Capital Group. He has 14 years of industry experience and has been with Capital Group for four years. Prior to joining Capital, Andrew worked as a client portfolio manager, with a focus on Asian and Greater China equities, at Barings. Before that, he was an equity product specialist at HSBC Global Asset Management. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with accounting and marketing from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Andrew is based in Hong Kong.