JPMorgan predicts booming humanoid robot demand in U.S. manufacturing

JPMorgan predicts booming humanoid robot demand in U.S. manufacturing

Tue, August 25, 2026 at 3:25 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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JPMorgan expects demand for humanoid robots to surge in U.S. manufacturing, arguing that the economics increasingly favor automation over human labor as the cost of deploying a robot falls below $10 per hour, according to MarketWatch.

The bank's research note, cited by MarketWatch, puts the economic calculation bluntly: at under $10 per hour to operate, a humanoid robot undercuts the roughly $30 hourly cost of a warehouse worker by a significant margin. The note identifies U.S. manufacturing as a sector with substantial unfilled job openings — positions the bank expects humanoid robots to absorb in large numbers.

The forecast arrives as the humanoid robot industry navigates a rapidly shifting regulatory and competitive landscape. The Federal Communications Commission added foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots to its Covered List, blocking new imports of such devices on national security grounds. The move targeted China, which holds roughly 85% of the global humanoid robot market. Chinese firms Unitree and AGIBOT each shipped more than 5,000 humanoid units in 2025, while American competitors such as Tesla and Figure AI shipped only a few hundred units apiece, according to CNN, citing technology research firm Omdia.

China's Foreign Ministry pushed back against the FCC restrictions, with spokesperson Mao Ning saying Beijing would take "all measures necessary" to defend the interests of Chinese businesses. "Protectionism does not make the U.S. more competitive, and it will only hurt the interests of U.S. companies and consumers," Mao Ning said.

Unitree, one of the leading Chinese humanoid robot makers, went public on Shanghai's STAR Market earlier this month. The company's stock closed 460% above its IPO price on its first trading day, valuing it at roughly $50 billion, according to Reuters. Unitree raised approximately 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million) in the listing. The company's revenue climbed to 1.70 billion yuan in 2025 from 392.77 million yuan in 2024, and it posted a net profit of 278.21 million yuan, according to its prospectus. Overseas sales, including the U.S. market, accounted for about 44% of its main-business revenue in 2025.

Global humanoid robot shipments totaled roughly 15,000 units in 2025, according to CNN, citing Omdia.