(Bloomberg) — Europe has been late to the AI boom and trails China on electric cars. But when it comes to humanoid robots, it\u2019s still in the race.<\/p>\n
Sweden\u2019s Hexagon AB has built a humanoid that\u2019s being tested at industrial clients including BMW AG. Germany\u2019s Neura Robotics GmbH just raised some \u20ac1 billion ($1.2 billion) from investors including Amazon.com Inc. and Qualcomm Inc., valuing the startup at about \u20ac4 billion.<\/p>\n
Local automotive suppliers Schaeffler AG and Robert Bosch GmbH are also betting on grabbing a share of the nascent market headlined by Tesla Inc. and Hyundai Motor Co.<\/p>\n
Hexagon\u2019s Aeon robot will surge in numbers from dozens now to \u201ca few thousand\u201d until 2030, said Arnaud Robert, head of robotics at the Stockholm-listed precision measurement group. \u201cWhen that inflection point hits, the scale-up will be quite rapid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valued at 248 billion Swedish kronor ($26.4 billion), Hexagon is on track to fully commercialize the Aeon in 2026, taking only about three years to reach that milestone. It highlights the versatility of Europe\u2019s machine parts manufacturers as they try to counter waning orders from carmakers. Hexagon\u2019s push into humanoids was aided by its work with Boston Dynamics Inc.\u2019s Spot robot, which it supplied with high-precision scanners and sensors.<\/p>\n
The excitement around the two-legged machines, designed to reduce labor costs and address an aging demographic, reached new heights in January at CES in Las Vegas. That\u2019s where South Korea\u2019s Hyundai presented its Atlas, whose on-stage performance was so impressive it sent the automaker\u2019s shares up 80% in the subsequent two weeks.<\/p>\n
Hyundai\u2019s push into humanoids kicked off in 2021, when it took control of Boston Dynamics. One of the field\u2019s pioneers, the US company has become Internet-famous for videos of its bots opening doors or doing flips. Hyundai spent billions on its new unit and poached top talent to make the display at CES happen.<\/p>\n
For automakers and their suppliers, humanoid robots aren\u2019t a massive leap as they share many of the same components with electric cars. They use batteries and motors, and are guided by sensors and artificial intelligence software. Yet above all, they promise growth for an industry grappling with tariffs and muted demand. The market for AI-powered robots and autonomous machines has the potential to balloon into a trillion-dollar opportunity by 2035, a team of Barclays analysts wrote in a February report titled \u201cThe Decade of the Robot.\u201d<\/p>\n
To be sure, making functioning humanoids remains a challenge. They work well in controlled, narrow environments, but still struggle with unpredictable events, unknown objects or lighting changes \u2014 and balancing on two feet is an extra challenge. While traditional production lines don\u2019t have to be rebuilt to accommodate humanoids, they remain expensive to service and operate, said Danica Kragic, a robotics professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt will be five to 10 years before we see large-scale deployment,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are going to see a lot of robot graveyards for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hasn\u2019t stopped industrial suppliers from pursuing the new technology. Bosch, the world\u2019s top car parts maker, and German peer Schaeffler invested in Neura\u2019s latest funding round in March. The startup makes more traditional-looking robot arms upgraded with features including voice recognition, as well as the 4NE1 humanoid it says can handle as much as 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and work safely alongside humans.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, humanoid robotics is one of the major new growth areas,\u201d said Schaeffler Chief Executive Officer Klaus Rosenfeld, adding that the supplier aims to generate 10% of its revenue from new businesses including humanoids by 2035. The maker of clutch systems and ball bearings is working to supply parts for humanoids and deploy them in its factories, and has started a pilot with Hexagon\u2019s Aeon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe core technology \u2014 how to build a laser, a small gearbox, or how to integrate an electric motor \u2014 those are all things we\u2019re already capable of,\u201d Rosenfeld said.<\/p>\n
Hexagon has about 10 humanoids in customer pilots, including at Swiss plane maker Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., and another 25 undergoing internal testing. The company said Wednesday its goal is to build a multi-billion-dollar business.<\/p>\n
At BMW\u2019s German car plant in Leipzig, the Aeon robot is being trained to assemble high-voltage batteries and move components between production steps, with a plan for deployment in manufacturing before the end of the year. BMW has also been testing humanoids from Nvidia Corp.-backed Figure AI at its factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel we compete head to head\u201d with US firms like Tesla, Figure AI and Hyundai\u2019s Boston Dynamics, Robert said.<\/p>\n
But competition may be breeding most quickly in China, where the government has made embodied AI a strategic priority. The country is now home to roughly 150 humanoid robotics companies, Robert said, even as most remain focused on consumer applications with only a smaller group targeting industrial use.<\/p>\n
Those are moving quickly toward scale. Xiaomi Corp.\u2019s humanoids have begun trial operations in its factories, with a goal of large-scale deployment within five years. Shenzen-based UBTech Robotics Corp. is another manufacturer pushing robots into industrial settings.<\/p>\n
With the race to dominate humanoids expected to fragment along geographic lines, suppliers like Schaeffler are keeping their options open. On top of its investment in Germany\u2019s Neura, Schaeffler has signed partnership agreements with companies including Leju Robotics from China and Agility Robotics in the US.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it\u2019s not so much a question of whether there will be a ramp up, but what the ramp-up curve will look like,\u201d Rosenfeld said.<\/p>\n
–With assistance from Mark Bergen.<\/p>\n
(Updates with Hexagon comment in 14th paragraph.)<\/p>\n