Robotics at a Glance

The robotics market’s 2026 baseline is best anchored to observed deployment and spend. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reported that the global market value of industrial robot installations reached an all-time high of USD 16.7B (reported Jan, 2026, global).

That figure ties demand to capex budgets rather than unit counts alone. It also signals that automation spend is holding up even as end-market cycles (notably automotive and electronics) remain uneven.

In unit terms, 2024 global industrial robot installations were 542 000 units, and the operational stock reached 4 664 000 robots in operation by end-2024. Regionally, Asia & Australia accounted for 74% of installations in 2024, while Europe was 16% and the Americas 10%.

For an adoption proxy that translates cleanly into workforce and productivity discussions, there are 162 industrial robots per 10 000 employees (2023). The leaders were South Korea (1012) and Singapore (770), with Germany (429) and Japan (419) representing the high-density anchor points for advanced manufacturing competitiveness.

A 4.6M-Unit Installed Base Redefines the Economics of Robotics Adoption

The StartUs Insights Discover Platform database tracked 136.1K companies operating across the robotics value chain, including 9920+ startups.

The industry recorded a yearly growth rate of 2.14%, which indicates a steady expansion driven by rising automation demand, labor efficiency requirements, and advances in AI, sensing, and control systems.

The EU’s digital strategy factpage states the Chips Act should result in more than EUR 43 billion in public investments and more than EUR 100 billion of policy-driven investment until 2030.

Simultaneously, the US NIST fact sheet states that the CHIPS and Science Act provides the Department of Commerce with USD 52.7 billion over five years to boost semiconductor manufacturing, research, and workforce development.

These policy envelopes are a defensible way to connect robotics demand to industrial resilience spending rather than treating robotics as a standalone market.

In terms of employment, robotics supports around 9.3 million workers worldwide. Over the past year, the industry added more than 2.8K new employees.

The global robotics market size is expected to reach USD 88.3 billion by 2026.

 

 

Robotics Startup Highlights

Yuvya – Kitchen Operating System

Indian startup Yuvya develops yKOS, a kitchen operating system that standardizes and automates food production using robotics, AI, and software-driven workflows. It codifies recipes into digital formats that guide semi-automated or fully robotic kitchen operations.

yKOS Lite semi-autonomous system manages guided cooking workflows, quality monitoring, and inventory integration.

yKOS Full system extends the current system to autonomous cooking, ingredient handling, and zero-touch operations. This enables a higher level of automation across kitchen processes.

Each system applies AI-powered quality control and automation to reduce preparation time and minimize food waste. It also maintains consistent output across locations without relying on skilled chefs.

byte robotics – Collision-free Robot Programming

German startup byte robotics offers an automated robot program generation software that creates collision-free and cycle-time-optimized industrial robot programs within existing offline programming workflows.

It analyzes a user’s process description with advanced mathematical and algorithmic optimization methods. These include autonomous path-finding algorithms with high-dimensional constraints to determine feasibility, resolve conflicts, and compute the fastest executable robot motions.

The software integrates with established offline programming systems and runs on local machines or cloud environments based on data security requirements. It also supports spot and path-based applications like welding, gluing, cutting, polishing, and assembly without additional hardware.

Additionally, the software enables automatic robot selection and intelligent placement suggestions. It also supports optimized task sequencing and environment-aware planning, while allowing programmers to review and adjust results within their standard tools.

Nautica Technologies – Autonomous Hull Cleaning System

Swiss startup Nautica Technologies builds HYDRA, an autonomous robotic hull cleaning system that removes biofouling from ships without toxic chemicals or operational downtime.

The lightweight, onboard robotic system autonomously cleans vessel hulls during normal operations or port calls. AI-driven control further enables full-surface coverage to prevent drag buildup and invasive species transfer.

Moreover, the system operates without dive teams or crew intervention. It captures comprehensive hull condition and performance data during each cleaning cycle to support operational insights.

This way, HYDRA eliminates reliance on toxic antifouling paints and dry dock cleaning and maintains optimal hull efficiency across vessel sizes.

Soundsafe Care – Non-invasive Surgical Robotics

Italian startup Soundsafe Care provides a robot-assisted ultrasound surgical system that enables non-invasive tumor treatment.

It focuses high-intensity ultrasound beams deep inside the body to generate millimetric, localized tissue destruction. At the same time, diagnostic ultrasound provides real-time imaging to guide and monitor therapy delivery.

The system integrates robotics, computer vision, and proprietary software to automate therapy planning, track and compensate for patient and organ motion, and ensure submillimetric precision across multiple sonications.

In addition, robotic automation improves repeatability and reduces procedure time. It also supports intuitive operation for physicians across varying anatomical conditions.

PodiSense – Triaxial Sensor

Cyprus-based startup PodiSense develops triaxial force-sensing technology for robotic grippers. It leverages proprietary sensor architectures that simultaneously measure vertical load, lateral shear forces, and rotational dynamics.

The technology streams calibrated real-time data through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or universal serial bus (USB) interfaces for direct system integration. The integration into robotic grippers does not add bulk and enables continuous monitoring of contact dynamics across complex surfaces.

Further, the technology supports real-time visualization and intuitive calibration tools. It also provides application-ready outputs for biomechanics analysis, gait assessment, robotic control, and gesture-based interaction.

R&D and Intellectual Property Trends

Companies in the sector hold approximately 778.8K patents, filed by around 189.5K applicants. The yearly patent growth rate of 5.97% signals momentum in R&D activity, as robotics technologies rapidly evolve in capability, intelligence, and adaptability.

Discover the emerging trends in the robotics market along with their firmographic details:

 

Collaborative Robots (Cobots)

Cobots represent a large and well-established segment within the robotics industry. It includes 2800+ companies employing approximately 115 500 people worldwide. Workforce growth remains incremental, with 70+ new employees added in the last year. The annual growth rate of 1.27% indicates slow but stable expansion.

Cobots are deployed across manufacturing, logistics, and assembly environments, where they support flexible automation and human-machine collaboration. Growth in this segment is driven primarily by incremental efficiency gains, software upgrades, and expansion into small and medium-sized enterprises rather than rapid market disruption.

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)

HRI stands out as a high-growth and innovation-driven domain. It comprises 315+ companies with a combined workforce of approximately 11 700 employees. Over the past year, 10 new employees were added.

With an annual growth rate of 14.03%, HRI reflects increasing demand for intuitive, safe, and adaptive interactions between humans and robots. Applications span service robotics, healthcare, assistive technologies, and collaborative industrial systems.

Soft Robotics

Soft robotics represents a rapidly emerging niche focused on flexible, compliant, and bio-inspired robotic systems. The segment includes 230 companies employing approximately 6800 people, with 8+ new employees added in the last year.

The annual trend growth rate of 10.93% indicates momentum, driven by applications in healthcare, food handling, agriculture, and delicate manufacturing tasks. Soft robotics enables safer interaction with humans and fragile objects for next-generation robotic systems in unstructured and dynamic environments.

Robotics Market: Investment and Funding Landscape

Figure raised USD 675 million in a funding round at a USD 2.6 billion valuation, with strategic participation including Nvidia and Microsoft, and with an announced collaboration with OpenAI. This is a useful marker for how quickly foundation model narratives are being productized into robotics roadmaps.

On the strategic M&A side, ABB’s robotics business became a high-visibility asset for portfolio reshaping. ABB planned to spin off its robotics unit after it generated USD 2.3 billion in 2024 sales with a 12.1% profit margin. This is strong evidence that robotics is enough to be separated, valued, and financed as a standalone platform.

ABB also announced that it agreed to divest its Robotics division to SoftBank for an enterprise value of USD 5.37 billion, with expected close mid-to-late 2026. It also stated the deal replaces the prior spin-off intent, which is a clear signal that robotics platforms are attracting control premium bids tied to AI and autonomy strategies.

For a concrete capex-and-capability datapoint that sits well under investment commitments, Yaskawa’s integrated reporting highlights a sustained build-out posture. The company reported capital expenditures of JPY 37.9 billion in FY2023, alongside increased expenses tied to growth investments.

This means that leading robotics OEMs are still funding capacity and technology even in soft demand pockets.

Finally, robotics-relevant industrial investment is being pulled forward by advanced manufacturing and semiconductor policy, which has direct downstream effects on automation demand.

For instance, imec launched NanoIC, a EUR 2.5 billion chip pilot line initiative under the EU Chips Act. It was funded by EUR 1.4 billion in public contributions and EUR 1.1 billion from private stakeholders. This is a strong capex adjacency datapoint because leading-edge fabs and pilot lines are among the most automation-intensive industrial environments.

Sources Used in This Report

This robotics report was built using the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which continuously tracks 9M+ companies, 25K+ technologies and trends, and 190M+ patents, news articles, and market reports. It links those signals to funding activity, workforce indicators, and real-world market momentum.

Rather than treating robotics as a single category, the research mapped a robotics value chain that spans enabling layers (sensing, actuation, compute, motion control, simulation, safety, and robot operating software) and application clusters (like industrial automation, logistics, warehousing, field robotics, healthcare systems, and service robotics).

To keep the analysis decision useful for 2026 planning, the dataset was filtered to isolate companies with robotics-specific products, patents, or deployment footprints. The five-year lens was selected to capture the shifts that are actually moving the market today, including the rapid uptake of AI in perception and autonomy, as well as tighter safety and compliance expectations for human-robot collaboration.