China now makes 97% of the world's humanoid robots

Humanoid robots, machines built with a human-like body and legs, are still a young technology. But right now, almost all of them are being built and sold by Chinese companies.

Smart Analytics Global (SAG), a research firm based in California, reported that Chinese manufacturers shipped more than 18,500 of the roughly 19,100 humanoid robots sold worldwide in the first half of 2026. That is over 97% of the global total, according to Bloomberg's report via Yahoo Finance.

Global shipments more than tripled compared with the same period last year, up from 5,100 units, a 272% increase. China wasn't just supplying the robots either: it accounted for more than 85% of global demand for them too.

Shanghai-based Agibot took the top spot with 8,400 units shipped, a 44% share, overtaking Hangzhou-based Unitree, which shipped 5,900 units for a 31% share. Together the two companies control about three-quarters of the global market. US makers Tesla, Figure AI and Agility Robotics shipped far fewer units by comparison, according to TechNode.

SAG forecasts around 60,000 humanoid robots will ship in 2026, rising to half a million by 2030, worth roughly $3 billion in revenue. Linda Sui, SAG's founder, said: "Industrial and commercial applications accounted for more than 70% of shipments, up from approximately 50% a year earlier."

It's worth noting these figures count robots that have been shipped, not robots that are actually doing sustained, productive work. Analysts say the technology is still immature.

If you don't work in manufacturing or robotics, this shift is unlikely to touch your daily life directly yet, since most of these robots are going into factories and commercial settings rather than homes.

But the geography matters. In late July, the US moved to ban imports of new Chinese-made humanoid and quadruped robots, along with some components, citing national security. If you work for a company that was planning to buy or use Chinese-made robots, that policy could affect what equipment becomes available to you.

The report landed on the same day Unitree opened its share subscription for a listing in Shanghai, making it the first humanoid robot maker to list on China's A-share market. With SAG projecting a tenfold jump in shipments by 2030, and the US restricting imports from the market leader, the split between Chinese production and Western policy looks set to shape how humanoid robots spread over the next few years.