Thousands of Humanoid Robots Are Shipping, But Where Are They Actually Working?

The factories are turning out humanoid robots at a record pace. Yet one would not be justified in thinking that an upturn in shipments is putting these machines to work on the jobs of daily life.

IDC, a market research firm, has the figures: 432.1% more were put into circulation in the first six months of 2026 than in the corresponding period of the year before, for a total of some 25,000 units shipped around the globe.

One has to wonder where all these machines are being put to work, an issue the figures put in perspective. Released on September 30, they bear witness to the pace at which manufacturers are putting more production in place.

AgiBot of China is case in point: the robotics firm was first in the world for shipments, accounting for some 35% of the market with over 8,600 units.

Forbes, citing IDC data, has Unitree at about 5,000 units shipped; the numbers for a host of other makers were much less in volume. As for China, it was pre-eminent in terms of demand and production, some 95% of all humanoids made in the world coming from there as well as 78% or so of purchases.

Then again, this doesn’t necessarily mean that most of the demand has come from factories seeking to replace repetitive human labor.

According to figures from IDC, it was the research and education sector, government data centers, as well as performances and exhibitions that made up 69% of all humanoid units shipped in the first half.

In effect, much of the market’s expansion is yet tied to such things as data collection and demonstrations or development, not the sort of commercial work one would expect.

Still, there is evidence of a shift from these kinds of uses. Gasgoo reports that Chimelong Spaceship Park in Hengqin has put over 300 AgiBot robots to work on entertainment and other visitor duties since September 24 of this year.

Then there are the deployments in industrial quality inspection and for retail assistance that AgiBot has put on record. However, that deployment doesn’t really prove that the robot can work in an unassisted, dependable and profitable manner for any length of time.

It is not common for a manufacturer to put forward any in depth data on the costs of running their systems, or matters such as downtime, human involvement and task completion.

And yet a company would do well to have those particulars when making a call on if a humanoid is more of a practical proposition than what one can get from conventional automation or a human worker.

According to an earlier report from IDC, the bulk of humanoid deployments, some 85% or more, were concentrated as guided tours, data collection, education and performances in 2025.

New figures like these put a different spin on things: while the majority of shipments are for development purposes, there is evidence of a market that is growing and putting its applications to wider use. That difference truly matters more and more now that robotics companies are competing to show that they can manufacture at scale.

To ship out thousands of machines is no doubt an industrial feat of some note. But to make of them a productive workforce is another matter altogether.

In the humanoid robotics market, one could say that its next phase is not so much about the volume of robots on offer from companies, but rather more about how consistently those robots can perform useful tasks in real operating environments.