Nvidia and Tesla are aggressively attacking humanoid robots, and Taiwan's component supply chain is taking shape

NVIDIA's Huang Renxun shows off his robot in a short film. United Daily News file photo

In 2025, major global manufacturers will compete to mass-produce humanoid robots. Not only will Nvidia, Tesla, Open AI, Amazon, Honda and others actively make plans, but the China Manufacturers Alliance will also strongly advocate that Taiwanese manufacturers including Li-Tech, Hiwin, Taiwan Elite, Li-Ming Machinery, Yulon, Hoda, and Futian Electric actively deploy key components for humanoid robots, forming a supply chain ladder.

Market research firm TrendForce estimates that major robot manufacturers will gradually achieve mass production in 2025, and the global humanoid robot market output value will have the opportunity to exceed US$2 billion in 2027. The market size will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 154% between 2024 and 2027.

On November 24, Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of artificial intelligence chip giant NVIDIA, pointed out at a dialogue forum at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology that robots need artificial intelligence to understand the physical world. He expects that there will be obvious robot products that can be mass-produced, including cars, drones and humanoid robots, among which humanoid robots will have the highest level of mass production.

Huang Renxun said that with the above three types of robots, humans can expand robotic technology to the highest output.

Electric car giant Tesla is also making a strong push into humanoid robots, with CEO Elon Musk holding a public event in early October saying that by 2040, there will be at least 10 billion humanoid robots in the world, which will exceed the world's population.

Tesla said that in late July, the humanoid robot Optimus had been independently and automatically performing battery production-related tasks in one of its factories. CEO Elon Musk revealed that Optimus robots will be mass-produced for internal use in the company in 2025.

Open AI also cooperated with AI robot startup Figure to develop robots based on OpenAI's large model. Open AI also invested in Norway's 1X Technologies to develop EVE humanoid robots. Amazon, the leading US e-commerce company, invested in robotics startup Agility Robotics to design and develop Digit humanoid robots for factory use, which are expected to be launched in 2025.

In addition, Boston Dynamics in the United States continues to develop the humanoid robot Atlas, and Honda in Japan and Engineered Art in the United Kingdom are vertically deploying humanoid robots.

According to analysis by local investment consultants, the number of global humanoid robot companies has increased significantly in the past 10 years. As of June this year, the number of global companies participating has exceeded 160, of which Chinese companies have actively deployed, accounting for 37% of the participating companies, 19% of the participating companies in the United States, and 11% of the participating companies in Japan. The number of participating companies of Chinese manufacturers has doubled in the past five years. Looking at the key components of humanoid robots, legal persons pointed out that including joint drive modules, torque sensors, harmonic machines, roller screws, frameless torque motors, etc., Taiwanese manufacturers have also gradually formed a supply chain for humanoid robots.

TrendForce estimates that the humanoid robot hardware and software supply chains will be highly overlapped with the supply chains of smart terminal equipment, industrial robots, and drones. Currently, suppliers with competitive advantages in these three supply chains will find it easier to enter the humanoid robot market in the future. Hiwin, a major transmission component manufacturer, has equipped the humanoid robot field with hoisting machines and roller screw technology. Hiwin previously pointed out that Hiwin has developed key components such as warehouse machines, robot joints, and ball screws required for humanoid robots. Legal persons expect that Hiwin's humanoid robot automation will have the opportunity to double year by year. Automation solution provider Alliance and Chinese manufacturers have established joint ventures to develop humanoid robot joint module products, as well as key components such as harmonic machines, special frameless torque motors, robot joints, and controllers.

In addition, companies including Taiwan Elite, Li-Ming Machinery (LIMING), YuLong, and Heda continue to deploy various robot parking machine solutions.

Tomita Electric, a key motor supplier for Tesla, is actively developing multi-joint motors for robots. Tomita Electric explained that the multi-joint motor technology for robots is closely related to the power system of electric vehicles. The multi-joint motor is also a complete system with key components such as built-in gearboxes and drivers. Tomita Electric is responsible for vehicle regulations and developing multi-joint motor systems for robots.