The global embodied intelligence robot market is experiencing rapid expansion, emerging as a pivotal arena for technological competition worldwide. From legacy robotics firms to innovative startups, and from tech titans to cross-industry entrants, diverse players are vigorously participating in this sector, engaging in intense rivalry to secure a leading position in the global embodied intelligence landscape. This dynamic environment is driving advancements in embodied intelligence, with companies striving to demonstrate significant achievements in what industry insiders term the “positioning race.”
- Market Ushers in the “Answer Sheet Year” for Embodied Intelligence
2025 has been designated by the industry as the “answer sheet year” for embodied intelligence, marking a critical phase where embodied intelligence robots are transitioning from technological development to practical application. The global embodied intelligence robot market continues to grow, fueled by multiple factors including technological iterations, scene implementation, and policy and investment support. According to research data from IDC, the global robotics market is projected to exceed $400 billion by 2029. China accounts for nearly half of this market share, with an annual compound growth rate of approximately 15%, positioning it at the forefront globally and serving as a core engine for the growth of the worldwide robotics industry.
Embodied intelligence robots are accelerating their shift from technological breakthroughs to real-world applications. Key trends in embodied intelligence include continuous enhancement of perception capabilities, the rise of large models as a central driving force, ongoing improvements in simulation and world models, accelerated open-source sharing, integrated development of diverse robot carriers, and the prioritized landing of specific tasks in segmented scenes. These trends underscore the evolution of embodied intelligence as a transformative technology.
In terms of segmented markets, embodied intelligence stands out as a core growth driver, showing explosive growth in areas such as humanoid robots and quadruped robots. The industrial sector remains the largest application scene, accounting for half of the overall market, with primary demand originating from the automotive and electronics manufacturing industries. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in the first half of 2025, China exported 94,200 industrial robots, with a total value of $746 million, representing a sharp increase of 59.74% year-on-year. Several Chinese robotics enterprises are accelerating their expansion into overseas markets, achieving impressive results. For instance, Yushu Technology’s industrial inspection robots have been deployed in scenarios such as hydropower stations and oil refineries across 52 countries and regions, with orders in the first quarter of 2025 surging by 220% compared to the previous year.
The commercial service sector exhibits the fastest growth, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 30%. Pudu Technology’s service robot products have penetrated ten industry scenes including catering, healthcare, and industrial manufacturing, with business covering over 60 countries and regions and cumulative shipments surpassing 90,000 units. Additionally, the consumer-grade market demonstrates substantial growth potential. In the highly anticipated field of elderly care robots, companies are actively promoting the diversified implementation of intelligent elderly care robots, accelerating commercial processes. Data from a research report by Founder Securities indicates that the industrial scale for intelligent elderly care robots was approximately 7.9 billion yuan in 2024, and it is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan in 2025. Experts highlight that the intelligent elderly care robot industry, characterized by high value, high technological barriers, low market penetration, and broad application scenes, boasts a highly promising market outlook.
Industry experts analyze that the core drivers of current market growth primarily stem from technology, scenes, and cost. Firstly, technological integration is accelerating, with the combination of AI large models, 3D visual perception, and edge computing significantly enhancing the environmental adaptability of embodied intelligence robots. Secondly, scene demand is expanding, as sectors like industrial automation, commercial services, and medical rehabilitation experience a surge in demand for flexible automation, promoting market growth. Thirdly, the cost curve is descending, driven by the localization and规模化 production of core components, leading to price reductions. For example, some humanoid robot products on the market have already broken through the consumer-grade price threshold.
BlueRun Ventures partner Cao Wei stated that embodied intelligence, including humanoid robots, will encounter a “answer sheet” window in the second half of 2025, and whether financing enthusiasm can persist depends on the “answer sheet results” of enterprises. In his view, embodied intelligence-driven general robots represent a technology theme worthy of attention in the capital market over the next decade.
- Chinese Embodied Intelligence Enterprises Engage in Global Positioning
Globally, the embodied intelligence robot market is in a critical stage of accelerating transition from “technology verification” to “industrialization landing.” The overall competitive landscape presents a multipolar态势, with the United States and China leading, Europe, Japan, and South Korea following closely, and China rapidly rising. Different countries and regions exhibit distinct differences in technological paths, industrial ecosystems, policy orientations, and scene implementation.
In the United States, the focus is on technological originality coupled with military牵引, emphasizing research and development over mass production. The ecosystem layout is relatively open, with leadership in general AI, military scenes, and high-dynamic control, but commercial progress has been slower than expected. Companies like Tesla and Agility Robotics adhere to a vertical integration of “hardware, algorithms, and data.” Tesla’s third-generation robots are undergoing testing in U.S. factories and are expected to enter consumer scenes such as homes, with mass production anticipated by 2026 and plans to produce one million units annually within five years. Agility Robotics’ humanoid robots are already in use in manufacturing and logistics scenes, with commercial partnerships including renowned enterprises like Amazon, GXO, and Schaeffler. NVIDIA has introduced an open-source model for humanoid robots, attempting to capture a share of the trillion-dollar robot market.
Europe adheres to an “ethics-first” approach, establishing barriers through compliance and precision in high-risk scenes such as medical and industrial collaboration. For example, Germany’s Bosch focuses on industrial robots but lags in humanoid robot布局. Japan and South Korea emphasize “scene segmentation,” concentrating on the needs of an aging society, with emotional interaction and companion robots serving as differentiated breakthroughs. Companies like Honda and Toyota made early investments in bionic robots and have gradually shifted towards collaborative robots in recent years.
In recent years, Chinese enterprises have rapidly risen in the robotics field by leveraging industrial chain integration and scene implementation efficiency. Chinese robot companies such as Zhiyuan Robotics and Qinglang Intelligent are exerting efforts in the international market through strategies of “technology出海 + localized cooperation.” It is reported that Zhiyuan Robotics has already made deployments in countries and regions including Europe, America, the Middle East, Japan, and Southeast Asia, collaborating with local partners on localization and globalization aspects for overseas markets. The company also released an open-source world model platform GE for real-world dual-arm robots, planning to gradually open-source it in the fourth quarter of this year. Ubtech has deeply cultivated humanoid robot technology, with technological布局 covering full-stack capabilities including motion control, servo drives, multi-modal interaction, and SLAM navigation. The company’s average annual patent applications have exceeded 200 in the past five years, accelerating the technological supply capacity and industrialization process of humanoid robots. Qinglang Intelligent focuses on building a fully self-developed technology system and a closed-loop capability encompassing “research and development-intelligent manufacturing-implementation.” Its products have passed certifications in over 60 countries and regions worldwide, setting an example for “Chinese intelligent manufacturing” going global.
Facing an increasingly competitive yet highly promising market, multiple robotics innovation enterprises are targeting different tracks for breakthroughs. For example, Zeroth Power Robotics is the first domestic startup to achieve ultra-long sequence multi-task coherent operations in hotel scenes. Its specialized model Zerith-V0, paired with the wheel-arm robot Zerith-H1, targets standardized scenes such as hotel cleaning and restocking, with plans to deliver 500 units within the year. Fourier has launched intelligent rehabilitation solutions based on robot technology for medical rehabilitation scenes. Its “embodied intelligence rehabilitation port” integrates over 30 self-developed rehabilitation robot products, providing five major rehabilitation modules including guidance consultation and cognitive training, which have been implemented in more than 300 case departments nationwide.
Certainly, embodied intelligence robots, as an important direction for the intelligent development of robotics, rely on the integration of multiple key technologies and complex systems, requiring more enterprises in the industrial chain to participate while also offering more market development opportunities for upstream and downstream companies. Among them, Tencent, following a platform-based route, launched China’s first modular embodied intelligence software platform “Tairos,” aiming to provide modular software capabilities for robot manufacturers and promote industry intelligent upgrading. Laser radar company Su Teng Ju Chuang introduced a new category in robot vision, Active Camera, offering a one-stop solution for robot perception development for the industry. Haier Group, jointly with seven representative embodied intelligence enterprises and representatives from industry, academia, and research such as the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Association, initiated the establishment of the “Embodied Intelligence Innovation Ecosystem Alliance.” Based on Haier’s home appliance application scenes and intelligent manufacturing bases, the alliance provides rich application scenes for the implementation of embodied intelligence and humanoid robots.
The competition in embodied intelligence本质上 is a struggle for “scene definition rights.” The first-mover advantages of Chinese enterprises in fields such as industrial logistics and rehabilitation services are being transformed into standard output capabilities through globalization布局. However, in the journey of embodied intelligence robots transforming from “technological marvels” into “economic units,” the industry must undergo a round of reshuffling and restructuring, and the “global positioning” path of Chinese enterprises has only just begun.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Projected Global Market Size by 2029 | Over $400 billion |
| China’s Share | Nearly half of global market |
| China’s Annual Compound Growth Rate | Approximately 15% |
| 2025 H1 China Industrial Robot Export Volume | 94,200 units |
| 2025 H1 China Industrial Robot Export Value | $746 million |
| Year-on-Year Growth in Export Value | |
| Yushu Technology Q1 2025 Order Growth | 220% |
| Pudu Technology Cumulative Shipments | Over 90,000 units |
| 2024 Intelligent Elderly Care Robot Market Size | Approximately 7.9 billion yuan |
| 2025 Expected Intelligent Elderly Care Robot Market Size | Over 50 billion yuan |
The embodied intelligence sector continues to evolve, with embodied intelligence robots becoming increasingly integral to various industries. The emphasis on embodied intelligence in global strategies highlights its potential to redefine automation and interaction. As companies invest in embodied intelligence technologies, the development of more sophisticated embodied intelligence robots is expected to drive further innovation. The integration of embodied intelligence into daily operations underscores the importance of continuous research and collaboration in advancing embodied intelligence applications. Ultimately, the progress in embodied intelligence will shape the future of robotics, making embodied intelligence a cornerstone of technological advancement.