Humanoid Robot Sales Reached 7,000 Units in 2025, Inaugural IFR Data Shows

Approximately 7,000 humanoid robots were sold worldwide in 2025 for industrial and professional service applications, according to inaugural data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). This new figure provides an early, official measure of a nascent market that investors and industry analysts expect to expand rapidly in the coming years.

A New Market Benchmark

The IFR, which has compiled global robotics data for three decades, has begun tracking humanoid robots as a distinct category. The federation defines a humanoid robot as having a human-like appearance and the ability to operate autonomously in environments designed for people, though it does not necessarily need legs to meet the criteria. The data, reviewed by Reuters ahead of its formal publication, excludes consumer, military, and medical robots, which are classified separately.

For context, the humanoid robot market remains a fraction of the broader robotics industry. In 2024, the market saw installations of approximately 542,000 industrial robots and sales of an estimated 199,000 professional service robots for tasks like transport and cleaning.

Early Adoption Phase

Most of the humanoid units sold last year were utilized for research and data collection rather than for productive, operational tasks, according to Susanne Bieller, secretary general of the Frankfurt-based IFR. Automakers are among the technology's early adopters, currently testing the robots in factory settings.

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These pilot programs typically involve very small numbers of units, often in the single or low double-digits, Bieller noted. This indicates the technology is still in an experimental phase within major industrial sectors as companies evaluate its potential for integration into existing workflows.

Future Growth Projections

While current sales figures are modest, market forecasts point toward a significant acceleration in adoption. Analysts at Bank of America Global Research project that shipments of humanoid robots will surge to 90,000 units in 2026.

Looking further ahead, the same research estimates that the market could grow to 1.2 million units shipped by 2030, signaling strong confidence in the sector's long-term commercial viability and potential to disrupt manufacturing and service industries.