AI Will Grow the Robot Business, But Robot Makers May Not Be the Big Winners
A new report from S&P Global says artificial intelligence will help grow the industrial robotics market over time, but the companies that make the robots may not get the biggest share of that growth. Their customers, the factories and businesses that buy and use the robots, could end up gaining more.
Industrial robots are the machines used in factories to build, move, or assemble products. This site exists to explain stories like this in plain words, because you should not need a dictionary to understand the news, even news about robots and AI.
What this means for you
If you work in manufacturing, invest in this space, or just watch tech trends, here is the short version. AI is set to make robots smarter and easier to use. That should mean more robots in more places. But it does not automatically mean more profit for the companies that build them.
The S&P Global report explains that AI could make automation cheaper for jobs that change often or need a lot of custom programming. Right now, those jobs are harder to automate because setting up a robot for them takes time and money. If AI lowers that cost, more factories may decide it is worth buying robots.
But there is a catch. The report says robot manufacturers may not benefit as much as their customers do. Smarter robots can do more work without needing extra machines. That means a factory might get more value from the robots it already owns, instead of buying new ones. On top of that, software companies that supply the AI tools could end up capturing a chunk of the financial gains, not just the robot makers.
The report points to data from the International Federation of Robotics to show how fast this market is already moving. In 2025, the world installed 603,000 new industrial robots, a record high and an 11 percent jump from the year before. The total number of robots working around the world rose 9 percent, now sitting at about 5.1 million units.
What is driving all this demand? The report points to a few steady forces. Many places face labor shortages, meaning not enough workers to fill factory jobs. Businesses also want higher productivity, and many are investing more money into manufacturing in general. Still, growth is not even everywhere. Some regions and industries are adopting robots faster than others.
Looking ahead, the report says AI will likely improve things like robot programming, simulation, and the engineering behind how robots are built into a process. These improvements are expected to show up before robots become fully independent, meaning able to work without much human setup, on a large commercial scale.
Here is how S&P Global sums up the uncertainty
- AI could make current robots and factories work better without companies needing to buy more equipment.
- AI could also lead to many more robot installations, but without big profit gains for manufacturers, if customers and software providers end up with most of the financial benefit.
- Lower costs to set up automation could open brand new markets, encouraging more robot sales overall.
Because of this mix, S&P Global says it does not assume that more companies using AI will automatically mean more profit across the robotics industry. The outcome depends on who captures the value, the robot makers, the software providers, or the businesses using the machines.
The bigger picture here is simple. AI is expanding what robots can do and where they can be used. But just because a market grows does not mean every company in it grows richer. Some will win more than others, and right now it looks like the buyers of robots, not necessarily the builders, may come out ahead.
If you want to follow this story as it develops, the next smart step is to watch for details on specific robot makers' earnings reports in the coming quarters. That will show whether this shift in value is already showing up in real company numbers.
Source: The Economic Times
