Home / Technology / Just 7,000 Humanoids Sold: The Quiet Start to a Robot Revolution
Just 7,000 Humanoids Sold: The Quiet Start to a Robot Revolution
21 Sep
Summary
- Only 7,000 humanoid robots were sold globally last year for professional use.
- Humanoid robot sales are a fraction of the 542,000 industrial robots installed in 2025.
- Billions are invested in humanoid technology despite current low sales numbers.
Globally, approximately 7,000 humanoid robots were sold last year for industrial and professional service use, according to figures from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). This number is a tiny fraction of the 542,000 industrial robots installed in 2025.
Despite the low current sales, the humanoid robot sector is attracting substantial investments and generating impressive demonstrations. Carmakers, for instance, are piloting these robots in "single-digit or sometimes double-digit numbers" in their plants.
Bank of America Global Research projects a significant rise, estimating 90,000 humanoid robots shipped this year and 1.2 million by 2030. Many of the humanoids sold recently were acquired by research institutions for AI model development rather than for direct productive work.
