IDC Puts H1 Humanoid Shipments Near 25,000, With AGIBOT Leading

Global humanoid robot shipments approached 25,000 units in the first half of 2026, up 432.1% year on year, according to IDC. In a September 30 press release sharing the research firm's data, AGIBOT said it ranked first with more than 8,600 shipments, representing approximately 35% of the global market.

Key Takeaways

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• IDC estimates nearly 25,000 global humanoid shipments in H1 2026; AGIBOT cites more than 8,600 shipments and approximately 35% share.
• These are new estimates for the same period covered by earlier reports, not an additional six months of growth.
• IDC says research and education, performances and displays, and government data centers still represented 69% of shipments.
• AGIBOT's H1 shipments are a separate measure from its recently announced 20,000 cumulative robots produced.

Another estimate of a fast-growing market

The figures add to a growing set of market tallies that agree on rapid expansion but differ on its scale. Our earlier Counterpoint coverage reported more than 22,000 global shipments in H1, including 9,700 from AGIBOT and a 43.1% share.

Both estimates put AGIBOT first, but they should not be read as a timeline showing its share falling from 43.1% to 35%. They describe the same January–June period. The supplied release does not reconcile the differences with Counterpoint's estimates.

Definitions also matter in a market spanning full-size bipeds, smaller humanoids and wheeled systems. Without comparing the underlying taxonomies and counting methods, the discrepancy cannot be assigned to any one cause.

AGIBOT also supplied an IDC bubble chart comparing vendors. Shipments appear on the horizontal axis and year-on-year shipment growth on the vertical axis; bubble size represents revenue. AGIBOT sits furthest right, while UBTECH records faster percentage growth from a much smaller shipment base. The chart does not label exact shipment totals for each competitor.

More shipments, but what kind of work?

IDC's own September 29 analysis provides a useful counterweight to broad claims of industrial deployment. Research and education, performances and displays, and government data-center applications together represented 69% of H1 shipments, down from 83.8% across full-year 2025. Those are different reporting periods, rather than a year-on-year comparison.

The market is broadening, but shipment volume alone does not show how many robots deliver sustained autonomous productivity. IDC forecasts more than 750,000 global shipments in 2030, an outlook rather than a confirmed order book.

AGIBOT's release points to its recent Chimelong and ASD retail deployments as examples of expanding applications. Its 20,000-robot manufacturing milestone provides further context on scale, but measures cumulative production across its robot series—not H1 deliveries, customer utilization or revenue. Keeping those measures separate is essential as the industry's shipment claims grow.