With the semi-annual report disclosures by listed companies now concluded, the strategic layouts and business progress of enterprises within the embodied intelligence supply chain have become distinctly visible. Based on an examination of mid-2025 financial reports, a sample of nearly 30 embodied intelligence supply chain companies reveals three key trends emerging this year. First, technology-driven firms are securing orders by positioning themselves with core components. Second, companies previously specialized in single product categories are achieving platform-based layouts through category crossovers and capital alliances, thereby opening up new growth avenues. Third, supply chain enterprises are accelerating their penetration from B-end manufacturing to C-end services and developer ecosystems, reshaping industry boundaries through ecological expansion. The mid-year reports reflect not only the growth trajectories of individual companies but also a critical turning point for the entire embodied intelligence industry as it moves from technological breakthroughs toward commercial explosion. The collective evolution and strategic transformations within the supply chain are pressing the accelerator for embodied intelligence technology to integrate genuinely into daily life scenarios.
1. Technical Positioning: Early Adopters Secure First Orders
The year 2025 marks the inaugural year for the mass production of embodied intelligence, and this industrial dividend is already evident in the mid-year reports. As a leading harmonic reducer manufacturer in the A-share market, Lide Harmonic Drive (688017) has used technological depth to break Japan’s long-standing monopoly in the domestic harmonic reducer market. This technological premium is becoming apparent as production scales up. In the first half of the year, Lide Harmonic Drive achieved dual improvements in business scale and profitability, with revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders increasing by 45.82% and 45.87%, respectively. Revenue related to embodied intelligence robots saw a substantial year-on-year rise, with products transitioning from research and development to small-batch production stages.
Lide Harmonic Drive is not alone in securing small-batch orders through technological prowess. The lead screw specialist Wuzhou Xinchun (603667) reported that its newly developed reverse planetary roller screw for the robotics business continues to gain small-batch orders from several clients. Similarly, the torque sensor leader Keli Sensing (603662) has entered a harvest period. Having previously provided samples to over 50 domestic humanoid robot, collaborative robot, and industrial robot companies, Keli Sensing achieved nearly a thousand units shipped in the six-dimensional force sensor category in the first half of the year, with some clients moving from sample verification to small-batch ordering phases.
The robotics contract manufacturing leader Lingyi Intelligent Manufacturing (002600) also realized its first returns during this period. By establishing multiple dedicated processing lines for humanoid robots and offering full-process production and processing solutions for full-body structural components, Lingyi Intelligent Manufacturing completed the delivery of several thousand complete machine processing orders for multiple leading embodied intelligence enterprises in the first half. These cases demonstrate that companies receiving orders this year have提前布局 for humanoid robot mass production and possess technology in key segments, granting them absolute advantages in positioning within the industrial chain. However, as the first wave of “shovel sellers,” the order volumes these firms have secured are not yet substantial enough to be listed separately in revenue statements. This indicates that downstream original equipment manufacturers are still in the process of selection and trial-and-error, with the overall industry landscape yet to be firmly established.
The progress in embodied intelligence is driving demand for specialized components, as companies like Lide Harmonic Drive and Keli Sensing capitalize on their early investments. The embodied robot sector is seeing increased activity, with firms leveraging their technical expertise to secure initial contracts. This trend underscores the importance of core technology in the embodied intelligence supply chain, where components such as harmonic reducers and torque sensors are critical for the development of advanced embodied robots. As the industry evolves, these early movers are well-positioned to benefit from the growing adoption of embodied intelligence solutions.
2. Strategic Layout: Horizontal Expansion and Vertical Integration
As mass production rhythms accelerate, downstream robot original equipment manufacturers are imposing higher demands on upstream component suppliers. In its financial report, Lide Harmonic Drive pointed out that the industry’s competitive landscape is shifting from product-oriented to service-capability-oriented. On one hand, robotics supply chain enterprises must possess full-chain technical support capabilities for technological collaboration, enabling deep participation, system matching, and performance optimization when providing terminal solutions for robot whole machine manufacturers. On the other hand, supply chain firms need to establish rapid demand response mechanisms and flexible production systems at the market demand level to meet the significantly increased差异化 and customized requirements of downstream whole machine manufacturers.
This evolution has instilled a sense of crisis in many enterprises. It implies that companies that secured orders this year through technology may not necessarily maintain their advantage next year. They need to develop more systematic production capabilities to prevail in this competition. To this end, they must adopt strategies of horizontal expansion and vertical integration in their strategic layouts.
From a horizontal perspective, companies that previously focused on深耕 a single product category are now beginning to cross over into other areas. This shift恰好呼应了 Lide Harmonic Drive’s mention of “full-chain technical support capabilities.” In other words, downstream original equipment manufacturers require not just a single component but an integrated research, development, and production systemic solution. Many companies stated in their financial reports that they are expanding into competitors’ domains. For instance, Lide Harmonic Drive is moving from reducers to planetary roller screws and torque sensors; Tuopu Group is extending from linear actuators to dexterous hand motors, sensors, body structural components, foot shock absorbers, and electronic flexible skins; and Fuling Precision, while integrating reducer, intelligent control, and motor technologies, is expanding its electric joint products to include both harmonic reducer and planetary reducer platforms.
The兴起 of crossover among embodied intelligence supply chain enterprises also reflects that the value of individual components in this industrial chain is not high, prompting firms to pursue platform-based product layouts to increase their bargaining power within the chain and pave the way for a larger share of the pie once volumes scale up. To capture this larger share, merely expanding product categories horizontally is insufficient. Vertically, companies are also deepening ties with downstream original equipment manufacturers and other ecological partners through capital means.
Fuling Precision chose to partner with a downstream star original equipment manufacturer. In the first half of the year, the company established a joint venture with partners including Zhiyuan Robot to implement humanoid robot projects. Leveraging Zhiyuan’s知名度 and order-taking capabilities, Fuling Precision will gain a better understanding of end customers and application scenarios, better adapt to the needs of large-scenario clients, and thus achieve scaled operations of intelligent robotics industry-related products. Keli Sensing, on the other hand, opted for proactive出击. In the first half, the company made strategic investments in a humanoid robot本体 enterprise (Kepler Humanoid Robot), tactile sensor companies (Tashan Technology, Yuansheng Xianda), and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) enterprise (Wuxi Beiwei Sensing), building multi-modal perception capabilities for robot sensing solutions and further enhancing the added value of its system-layer solutions.
Through the dual-track strategy of “horizontal expansion” and “vertical deep binding,” supply chain leaders are reshaping the entire embodied intelligence industry’s competitive landscape and value distribution model, transitioning from single component suppliers to integrated solution providers. This strategic shift is crucial for the long-term growth of the embodied intelligence ecosystem, as it enables more robust and adaptable supply chains for embodied robots. The emphasis on embodied intelligence in these layouts highlights the sector’s potential, with companies aiming to dominate key segments of the embodied robot market through comprehensive offerings.
3. Breaking Boundaries: From B-end Industrial to C-end Consumer Markets
As orders in industrial scenarios become increasingly challenging to secure, supply chain enterprises are seeking alternative paths. One approach is转向 faster-volume consumer-grade markets; the other involves evolving products from traditional industrial B2B models to B2C models直面 developers, reshaping industry boundaries through ecological expansion.
The most typical example in the first path is速腾聚创 (2498.HK). As a company selling lidar to automotive manufacturers, it began targeting the embodied robotics industry last year. However, unlike the companies closely following humanoid robot original equipment manufacturers mentioned earlier,速腾聚创瞄准 the consumer-grade robotics market—lawn mowing robots. In the first half of the year,速腾聚创 mentioned in its financial report the launch of two new digital products for robotics and subsequent partnerships with two globally leading lawn mowing robot manufacturers. One of these is Kuma Technology, a brand under松灵机器人.
According to the cooperation agreement, Kuma Technology will purchase 1.2 million solid-state or digital mechanical lidar units from速腾聚创 over the next three years for the development of high-end intelligent lawn mowing robot perception systems. This order led to explosive growth in速腾聚创’s robotics business in the first half. In the second quarter, related product sales reached 34,400 units, a sharp increase of 631.9% year-on-year, generating approximately 150 million yuan in revenue. After succeeding with the first path,速腾聚创 plans to use its products to navigate the second path—breaking boundaries in business models. To this end,速腾聚创 launched the robot vision product Active Camera last year and announced at the World Robot Conference in August that it would release Active Camera 2.0 in the second half of the year.
It is worth noting that速腾聚创’s machine vision new products are not only targeted at industrial-grade clients but also intended for developer services. The company stated in its financial report that this category comes with an AI-Ready ecosystem, allowing developers to use it out of the box. Currently, the product has gathered需求 from over 400 top developers and robotics enterprises across various fields, including scholars and developer teams from Tsinghua University, University of Hong Kong, Stanford University, National University of Singapore, and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich.
Orbbec (688322) has similar intentions. The company’s founder and CEO Huang Yuanhao previously stated in exchanges that the company is currently挖掘并服务 visual developers, providing them with the latest and best products to enable them to create the next generation of products. Beyond companies serving as the “eyes of machines,” those focused on the “hands of machines” are also recognizing the rise of developer ecosystems.兆威机电 (003021), which started with micro-motor technology and has been深耕 the industrial field for 24 years, decided this year to take a step forward by establishing a subsidiary dedicated to the research, development, production, and sales of dexterous hands. It has listed its developed dexterous hand products on JD.com, with prices ranging from 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.
This expansion from B-end industrial markets to C-end consumer scenarios and developer ecosystems marks a fundamental shift in the competitive dimensions of the embodied intelligence supply chain: from单一的 technology competition to a comprehensive争夺 for application scenarios, developer ecosystems, and even end-users. The embodied intelligence sector is thus broadening its reach, with embodied robots becoming more accessible and adaptable across diverse environments. This破圈 is essential for the widespread adoption of embodied intelligence, as it fosters innovation and accelerates the integration of embodied robots into everyday life.
In summary, the first half of 2025 has showcased significant movements in the embodied intelligence supply chain, driven by technical positioning, strategic expansions, and boundary-breaking initiatives. Companies are not only securing early orders through core technologies but also transforming into platform-based players with broader capabilities. The shift towards consumer markets and developer ecosystems indicates a maturation of the industry, as embodied intelligence moves from niche applications to mainstream adoption. The repeated emphasis on embodied intelligence and embodied robots throughout these developments underscores their central role in shaping the future of robotics and automation. As the supply chain continues to evolve, these trends will likely accelerate, paving the way for a more integrated and intelligent world where embodied robots play a pivotal role in various aspects of daily life and industry.