The first half of 2026 reshuffled the humanoid rankings. AgiBot shipped more than Unitree for the first time, taking the global lead. According to a 9 August report from Smart Analytics Global, a California research firm, global humanoid shipments reached about 19,100 units in the first half, nearly triple the 5,100 a year earlier. Full-year 2026 is projected near 60,000 units, with industry revenue around 1.6 billion US dollars and 2030 shipments seen at 500,000.
Chinese manufacturers accounted for more than 97 per cent of global shipments, and China itself drove over 85 per cent of global demand. AgiBot, based in Shanghai, shipped about 8,400 units, up 562 per cent year on year, lifting its global share from 25 per cent to 44 per cent to claim the top spot. Unitree, in Hangzhou, shipped about 5,900, up 170 per cent, holding 31 per cent in second. Together they represent roughly 75 per cent of the world total.
Behind them, Galaxy General shipped about 900 units, Ubtech about 700 and Leju about 600, a clear gap to the leaders. Tesla, Figure AI and Agility Robotics trailed well behind on volume. China’s lead rests on policy, capital and capacity compounding over years, plus a wave of local IPOs that seeded a scaled ecosystem. Localisation of core parts is the structural edge: harmonic-reducer localisation has passed 72 per cent, with unit cost sliding from 1,280 yuan in 2023 to 410 yuan, a 67.9 per cent drop, while servo-motor localisation rose from 23.1 per cent to 69.5 per cent at about one third of Japanese prices.
The report still flags three risks: weak autonomous perception and decision-making in complex industry and dynamic warehouse settings, overseas trade and local-content barriers, and uneven global safety standards that may cap commercialisation. AgiBot and peers are accelerating internationalisation into markets such as Britain and Germany to hedge single-market reliance. Capacity is in place. The next contest is who makes the robots actually work in real scenes.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Sohu report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience.