China Leads Humanoid Robot Shipments While US Bets on AI Superiority in $5 Trillion Market Race

China is shipping more than 97 percent of the world's humanoid robots, but the United States is betting its AI software advantage will ultimately determine the winner in a market that could exceed $5 trillion by 2050. The contrast in strategies has emerged as the defining competition in robotics: China controls the hardware supply chain and manufacturing capacity, while American companies focus on artificial intelligence and embodied intelligence models that promise to make robots more autonomous and versatile.