Investors on the hunt for real-world applications of artificial intelligence may want to consider humanoid robots, which some analysts predict could begin replacing human workers at scale by the end of the decade.
“Breakthroughs in generative AI are bringing 3D perception, control, skill planning and intelligence to robots,” Rev Lebaredian, Nvidia’s vice president of omniverse and simulation technology, told CNBC. “Humanoid robots will help close the gap as labor shortages increase around the world, especially in sectors like retail, warehousing and distribution or manufacturing.”
Some analysts say there’s a bigger market for these kinds of robots than for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles. And while advancements in autonomy have driven up the share price of stocks such as Tesla, analysts suspect not much value has been priced in for the potential of humanoid robots, creating an opportunity for investors who want to bet on the emerging technology. Adding to the bull case, some think President-elect Donald Trump’s expected deportation efforts could be another boon to automated labor.
The best use cases are yet to be determined. While the adoption of humanoid robots could pick up rapidly in factories, RBC analyst Tom Narayan sees the big upside coming from when — and if — humanoid robots can be part of a consumer’s everyday life. The real opportunity is in “more than just cutting vegetables,” he said.
The urgency is ‘palpable’
“I think the majority of the value [in humanoid robotics] is not on the industrial side. … It would have to be on the consumer side, like in people’s houses — like a personal assistant to help raise your kids or babysit,” Narayan said in an interview. “In most manufacturing plants in the U.S., for example, robots are already working. If you look at auto, most of those plants are already largely automated.”
- Morgan Stanley predicts the humanoid robot population will be 40,000 by 2030 and swell to 63 million by 2050.
- Citigroup is even more bullish, predicting a $7 trillion humanoid robot market by 2050 with 1.19 billion humanoid robots in operation.
- Goldman Sachs forecasts “significant growth in humanoid robotics” with a total addressable market of $38 billion worldwide by 2035. Robot density per worker has already doubled from 2016 to 2022, the firm noted.
- Macquarie expects there to be 6.3 million humanoid robots by 2035. By the end of that year, the firm estimates, the global market size for humanoid robots will reach a whopping $139 billion, with a 50% compound annual growth rate between 2026 and 2035.
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas anticipates humanoid robots will be a multidecade, trillion-dollar opportunity largely because the adoption curve could accelerate faster than for autonomous cars on public roads.
Far more capital will be pumped into the humanoids given the thousands of repetitive and dangerous human tasks that could be made significantly easier with robots being incorporated into factory lines, warehouses and kitchens, Jonas wrote in a September note to clients.
Content retrieved from: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/21/ai-speeding-development-of-humanoid-robots-but-investors-skeptical.html.
