Investing.com — Humanoid robots could become a market worth as much as $200 billion by 2035 as advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and battery technology accelerate adoption across industries, according to a Barclays report.
Humanoid robots are emerging as the next phase of automation, following industrial machinery and software-based AI. The technology is increasingly moving from research labs into commercial deployment and could become part of a broader physical AI ecosystem valued at up to $1 trillion by 2035.
Unlike traditional industrial robots, humanoids are designed to operate in environments built for humans, allowing them to use existing tools, buildings, and workflows without requiring major infrastructure changes. This could support adoption across factories, warehouses, healthcare facilities, and eventually homes.
Demand is expected to be supported by aging populations, urbanization, and labor shortages in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, and healthcare. The technology is also seen as a way to automate entire jobs rather than individual tasks, expanding its potential use cases.
Deployment is expected to occur in two phases. The first, spanning 2025 to 2030, is likely to focus on manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, construction, and agriculture. A later phase could see expansion into healthcare, hospitality, education, and household applications as safety and reliability improve.
Production costs have fallen sharply over the past decade, dropping from roughly $3 million per robot to around $100,000 today. Chinese manufacturers have pushed prices even lower in some cases, supported by vertically integrated supply chains and access to key materials used in production.
China currently accounts for the vast majority of global humanoid robot deployments, representing about 85% of installations in 2025. Industry deployments are estimated at around 15,000 units this year and could rise to roughly 60,000 units in 2026 as commercialization accelerates.
The report identified AI computing systems, actuators, and batteries as the three core components underpinning the humanoid robotics industry, with actuator systems representing the largest share of production costs.