US & China robotics · a cited record

Robotics — How the U.S. can Lead

America has the AI. China has the scale. Robotics is where they meet.

839 news records · 81 companies · 81 policy actions — every record is cited; primary sources preferred.

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The numbers

The scoreboard — who builds

Industrial robot installations — US vs China vs rest of world

The manufacturing-scale half of the thesis: China now installs more industrial robots each year than the rest of the world combined, while US installations have been roughly flat for a decade. Dashed = IFR outlook. Metric-by-metric comparison on US vs China.

What America is winning — capital

Latest valuations — top 8

Pure-play robotics only — most recent disclosed post-money or comparable.

Diversified primes & industrial incumbents (e.g. Anduril, FANUC, Yaskawa) excluded — their valuations span well beyond robotics. Toggle “All” to include them. Source: Companies.

Themes to watch

Accelerating Policy-ready

China Manufacturing Scale

China captured over 80% of global humanoid robot installations in 2025 (~16,000 units worldwide). Unitree shipped 5,500+ units and targets 20,000 in 2026; UBTECH became the first…

0 cos 0 policies
Accelerating

Robotics Foundation Models

The bet that one large model can drive many robot bodies is now well-funded: Skild AI raised $1.4B at a $14B+ valuation in January 2026; Physical Intelligence open-sourced its π0…

0 cos 0 policies
Accelerating Policy-ready

Humanoid Cost Trajectory

1X opened consumer preorders for NEO at $20,000 in April 2026 — the first humanoid priced for households. China's Unitree priced its G1 at $16,000, putting downward pressure on th…

0 cos 0 policies
Accelerating Policy-ready

Defense Robotics Procurement

DoD Replicator initiative committed $1B to fielding thousands of attritable autonomous systems within 18–24 months. Anduril ($14B valuation) and Shield AI ($5.3B) are the marquee…

0 cos 0 policies
Accelerating Policy-ready

Industrial Humanoid Deployment Wave

After years of demos, 2025–2026 saw the first contracted commercial deployments. Figure at BMW Spartanburg (sheet metal). Agility at Amazon, GXO, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Ca…

0 cos 0 policies
Accelerating Policy-ready

Federal Policy Momentum

After years of dispersed activity, 2026 brought concentrated movement: HR 7334 (National Commission on Robotics) and HR 8189 (American Security Robotics Act) introduced in the 119…

0 cos 0 policies

Most-watched companies

defenseunicorn

Anduril Industries

Costa Mesa, CA · defense
Valuation
$61B
Total raised
$11.3B
humanoidunicorn

Figure AI

San Jose, CA · manufacturing
Valuation
$39B
Total raised
$1.7B
industrial-armincumbent

FANUC

Oshino, Yamanashi, Japan · manufacturing
Valuation
$38.9B
Total raised
—
warehousepublic-company

Symbotic

Wilmington, MA · logistics
Valuation
$24.2B
Total raised
$723M
foundation-modelunicorn

Skild AI

Pittsburgh, PA · ai_foundation_model
Valuation
$14B
Total raised
$1.7B
defenseuav

Shield AI

San Diego, CA · defense
Valuation
$12.7B
Total raised
$2.7B

How to read this

  1. Where America leads, on the measures tracked here — frontier AI, humanoid startups, and venture capital.
  2. Where China leads — 54% of world robot installations, more than half of global cobot shipments, and 2 million robots in operation.
  3. What’s contested — components, batteries, sensors, and how fast either lead diffuses.

Every number above is tracked and cited on the US vs China scoreboard, where each “edge” call is marked as an editorial judgment on sourced data rather than a score.