17/03/2026
for 2026: what's next for robotics 🌿
Robotics in 2025 was full of excitement, with record VC investment, rapid in embodied AI, and new hardware innovations. Yet the industrial robot market continued to stagnate, with installations showing no meaningful growth since 2021 and China continuing to dominate with >50% of global deployments. ✈️
From humanoids and Robots-as-a-Service to nearshoring and lights-out operations, here are my top predictions for what is next in 2026.
1. Manufacturing becomes the main driver of automation
2. Robotics supply chains start to split
3. Robots-as-a-Service gains traction
4. Lights-out warehouses are finally here
5. Humanoids stay in the spotlight, but real deployments remain limited
6. Micro-fulfillment centers make a comeback
In 🌎
Taken together, these trends point to a more pragmatic era for robotics in which economics, resilience, and real-world performance drive adoption. The winners in #2026 and beyond will be the operators who start deploying automation now, learn from it, and scale what actually works.