Chinese vs American robots: who's winning the humanoid race

One stat sums up the race: roughly 90% of humanoids sold worldwide in 2025 came out of Chinese factories. And yet the game isn't decided. China and the US are playing different games.

China sells hardware, today

Unitree, UBTECH, AgiBot, EngineAI, Booster, Fourier, Kepler… the Chinese roster shares one strategy: build a lot, sell now, cut prices mercilessly. Result: you can buy a Chinese humanoid from $4,290, and fleets already work in BYD and Foxconn factories. The weak spot: manipulation software and international support.

The US bets on the brain

Figure (Helix), Tesla (its AI stack) and Boston Dynamics sell almost nothing to the public: they accumulate data, train models and produce the sector's most convincing manipulation demos. Their bet: whoever solves autonomy takes the whole market, even arriving second in hardware.

What about Europe and Japan?

1X (Norway/US) is the only Western player selling a home humanoid. Japan rules a different league: emotional companionship (aibo, LOVOT), where nobody disputes its throne.

Our take

Short term, buy Chinese: it's all that exists. Long term, AI will decide — and there the American edge is real. The true race starts when both sides hold both pieces.