OChina’s humanoid robot makers dominated the show floor at CES 2026, highlighting just how quickly they are scaling production compared with U.S. rivals. More than half of all humanoid-robot booths at the Las Vegas event came from Chinese companies, according to CES data, with firms from China occupying 21 of the 38 total spots. The presence highlighted not just technical progress, but China’s growing ability to build and deploy robots on an industrial scale.
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That scale is already translating into real shipments. Shanghai-based Agibot said it delivered its 5,000th humanoid robot in December 2025, putting it well ahead of most Western peers. By comparison, Tesla (TSLA) is widely believed to have produced only a few hundred Optimus units so far. Meanwhile, UBTech Robotics plans to reach 5,000 units in 2026 and double that total in 2027, reinforcing China’s lead in volume as pressure mounts on U.S. and European competitors.
Price Pressure Builds on Western Players
Meanwhile, price remains a key edge for Chinese firms. Unitree Robotics sells its G1 humanoid robot for $13,500. Its higher-end H1 model sells for about $90,000. By contrast, many Western robots cost far more and ship in small batches.
In response, Western firms are increasing their use of AI and factories. Boston Dynamics, owned by Hyundai Motor Group (HYMLF), showed a ready Atlas robot at CES. The robot can lift 110 pounds and work across wide temperature ranges. Hyundai plans to place Atlas units in car plants by 2028. In addition, Hyundai is working with Alphabet (GOOGL) unit Google DeepMind on AI systems. This shows a clear split in strategy across regions. China is focused on fast build speed and low cost. The U.S. and its allies are focused on smarter robots and long-term use cases. For investors, the race now comes down to scale versus software, and both paths remain open.
We used TipRanks’ Comparison Tool to align all the notable publicly traded companies in the Robotics sector side-by-side. This is a great tool to evaluate each stock and the Robotics sector as a whole.
