State of the Machines: Humanoid Supply Chain Moves

When it comes to humanoid hardware, not everyone is taking the same approach, some outsource it, some try to do it themselves. Two companies, east and west, both racing toward IPO, revealed more about their strategies this week.

Unitree: Vertical Integration Goes Public

Unitree, one of China's leading humanoid companies, reinforced its vertical integration strategy this week as Reuters reported the company had received approval for a Shanghai STAR Market IPO targeting RMB 4.2 billion (~US$619M), while co-founder Chen Li said Unitree's external supply chain extends little beyond raw materials such as copper wire and permanent magnets.

The approach reflects a strategy the company has been building for years. In March, Jiang Chengyi, Unitree's head of robotics solutions, said the company develops more than 90% of its hardware itself, including the motion and body systems that sit closest to robot performance, cost and reliability.

The IPO proceeds are earmarked for AI models, new robot designs, new robotic products and a smart manufacturing base.

The model has already changed Unitree's business mix. The prospectus showed humanoids accounted for 51.5% of Unitree's revenue in the first nine months of 2025, up from 27.6% in 2024, with 5,500 humanoid units shipped in 2025 and a reported 32.4% global humanoid market share.

Agility: Build Where the Market Fails

Agility Robotics, which is also moving toward the public markets, has signalled their own supply-chain strategy.

Rather than vertically integrating the entire robot, Agility is positioning itself more like a robotics OEM: buy mature subsystems where supplier markets already exist, but build the hardware where the market cannot yet meet Digit's requirements.

Jonathan Hurst uses cameras as the simplest example. Agility has no interest in becoming a camera company because high-quality suppliers already exist.

According to Hurst, Agility could not find a commercially available motor and gear-train capable of delivering the dynamic balancing, compliant interaction and control performance Digit required. Instead, the company developed its actuators in-house.

Everything else follows the same philosophy: own the strategic bottlenecks, buy the commodities.

That sourcing strategy extends into manufacturing. Agility has previously stated that around 75% of Digit's components are sourced within the United States, while RoboFab in Salem, Oregon is designed for up to 10,000 robots annually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBVvcCSk1vw

Samhyun: Actuator Capacity Moves to Capex

On July 8, the company unveiled its AXLON humanoid actuator family, a 12-model lineup covering joint actuators that integrate motor, reducer, controller and sensors. Public reporting says Samhyun is in talks with 21 global clients and is expanding output with a US$26.4 million, roughly KRW 40 billion, investment.

A more detailed report says Samhyun plans to invest KRW 100 billion from 2025 to 2029, with KRW 40 billion allocated to humanoid robot actuators. The company has already completed investment in controller capacity and says it now has annual production capacity of 500,000 controllers. It plans to expand motor capacity from 500,000 units in phase one to 1 million units in phase two. It also said development discussions are under way for 7 actuator types, 26 motor types and 3 controller types across its 21-customer pipeline.

source: Samyhun

Boston Dynamics and Hyundai Mobis: Auto Suppliers Enter Atlas

Boston Dynamics says Atlas deployments are already fully committed for 2026, with fleets scheduled to ship to Hyundai’s Robotics Metaplant Application Center, the Boston Dynamics AI Institute, TRI, Apptronik and RAI Institute.

Korean reporting says Hyundai is seeking to mass-produce 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots annually by 2028, and that Boston Dynamics is vetting Korean manufacturers for Atlas components. The Korea Herald report specifically points to actuators that power Atlas joints and grippers as part of the supplier opportunity.

Hyundai Mobis is already part of that stack. The Investor reported in January that Hyundai Mobis will supply actuators for Atlas, while also noting Hyundai’s North American robot factory plan with annual capacity of 30,000 units.

Motorevo / Quanzhibo: Joint Modules Become the Platform Layer

Motorevo, also rendered as Quanzhibo, is a move on Chinese joint-module scale.

The Wuxi-based company completed an A+++ round led by GL Ventures, with AgiBot and Lingxin Qiaoshou joining as strategic industrial investors. Gasgoo reported the round as backing for robot joint modules, while other reports described it as the company’s seventh raise in 18 months.

The investor mix is notable.

This is downstream robot and dexterous-hand companies moving closer to the joint-module layer.

36Kr reported that Motorevo’s Wuxi precision-joint base was put into operation in April 2026, with expected annual capacity of up to 1 million units. The same report cited automation above 85%, a 90-second cycle per joint module, first-pass qualification above 96% and yield above 98%.

Laifual Drive: Reducers Reach Public Markets

The harmonic reducer supplier listed in Hong Kong under 03952.HK after offering 13.44 million H-shares at HK$77.00 to HK$85.50. At the top end, that implied proceeds of about HK$1.15 billion, or roughly US$147 million.

The company is not only a generic machinery supplier. Laifual describes itself as a provider of robotic precision transmission components in China, with a portfolio spanning harmonic reducers, joint modules, robotic arms and automated workstations.

IPO coverage citing prospectus data says Laifual ranked second in China’s robotic harmonic reducer market in 2025, with 21.4% share by shipment volume and 12.9% share by revenue, behind Leader Harmonious.

Source: Laifual

SKF and Leaderdrive: Incumbents Move Into Humanoid Joints

SKF and Leaderdrive show the incumbent-industrial version of the same trend.

On July 2, SKF announced a China-based joint venture with Leaderdrive to develop and supply high-precision transmission components for humanoid robot joints. SKF will hold 60% of the venture, and operations are expected to begin by the end of 2026.

The venture will be based close to Chinese customers and supply chains, while SKF plans to use its global network to serve selected international markets. WSJ also reported the same 60% SKF stake and end-2026 operating timeline.

SKF is a global industrial components company. Leaderdrive is already positioned in precision transmission. Their joint venture suggests humanoid robot joints are becoming specific enough, and large enough, to justify dedicated industrial capacity.

Lizhong and Veyjing: The Bottleneck Spreads Into Structures

The supply-chain story is also moving beyond motors, reducers and joint modules.

Lizhong Group signed a five-year designated procurement agreement with Beijing Veyjing Intelligent for humanoid robot machined parts. Cailian Press reported that the agreement covers 5,000 sets of parts, corresponding to 5,000 humanoid robots, with an expected contract value of about RMB 75 million.

Coverage says the agreement covers large frames, shoulder joints, dexterous hands, support-system structural parts and other key machined components.

LG Energy Solution: Batteries Enter the Humanoid Stack

The supply-chain story also extends into power systems.

Korea Economic Daily reported on July 2 that LG Energy Solution has secured battery supply contracts with Tesla, Boston Dynamics and Figure AI, and is also in talks with Unitree.

This should be treated as reported rather than company-confirmed. LG Energy Solution has not published primary announcements naming those humanoid customers.

But the direction is still useful.