China leads dexterous hand supply for humanoids

karetoria via Getty ImagesChina dominates the supply of robotic hands, accounting for nearly all the high-dexterity hands shipped for humanoids so far this year. But Western companies are starting to gain ground as they scale up humanoid production.A new report from Smart Analytics Global (SAG) found that Chinese companies accounted for 96% of shipments of dexterous hands with six or more active degrees of freedom (DOF) in the first half of 2026. The Western share is still small (4%), but it has roughly quadrupled since 2025, with Figure AI a key driver, according to SAG.The report points to a split in strategy. Chinese firms are moving quickly to sell hands as standalone components, while Western producers tend to favor customized or in-house designs.Linda Sui, founder and principal at SAG, told AI Business the gap partly reflects markets at different stages of maturity.“China is moving faster to industrialize dexterous hands as a standalone component, supported by a growing number of specialized suppliers and a broader component supply chain,” she said. “This gives humanoid OEMs more choices and can help reduce cost and shorten development cycles.”Related:Lack of training data stifling humanoid bot developmentChina’s market readinessChina's broader manufacturing ecosystem gives its robotics companies access to many of the components needed to develop and produce hands, including motors, reducers, sensors and actuators.Ben Armstrong, who serves on the executive committee of HAND (human augmentation via dexterity), an NSF Engineering Research Center group, said China's advantage extends beyond the humanoid sector, citing the country's longstanding investment in industrial automation.“The localization of the supply chain of robot components also allows Chinese robotics companies to iterate and improve their designs faster than their North American or European peers that are left at the whim of global networks of suppliers,” he said. “The Chinese speed advantage means that even if Chinese technology is behind global leaders today, it can catch up quickly.”The distinction between third-party suppliers and in-house development of robotic hands is not, however, absolute, and Sui said the differences could become less important as the market develops.“We are seeing more Chinese humanoid companies develop their own hands for better integration and lower cost,” she said. “We expect both in-house development and third-party supply to coexist as the market matures.”Two strategiesGeorge Chowdhury, an analyst at ABI Research, said that comparisons between the markets are somewhat arbitrary.Related:Nvidia-backed Skild AI teaches robots new tasks from a single video“The distinction is simpler than this question implies,” he said. “Western vendors are focused on creating viable solutions for commercial problems, and manufacturers closely guard their IP, including the hands, because this is their competitive advantage and they must maintain it if they want to keep raising funds.”Chinese companies, by contrast, are focused on selling hardware at the highest volume and at the lowest cost, he said."Chinese vendors are insulated; they don't play by the market rules because they don't have to," he said. "All they care about is competing against one another and winning the next round of subsidies, and one of the metrics they are judged by is how many units they've shipped. If making complex hands will allow them to ship more units, they will prioritize this.”Meanwhile, in July, the U.S. imposed a ban on imports of Chinese robots and robotics components.Dexterity over DOFAs humanoids move into manufacturing, companies are favoring reliability and fit-for-purpose over raw DOF. SAG found the adoption rate of hands with six or more active DOF fell in the first half of the year, even as overall humanoid shipments grew rapidly, because many early industrial tasks don't need that level of dexterity.Related:Agility Unveils Digit 5, a Safety-Conscious Humanoid“We are seeing robotic components evolve toward lower cost, smaller size, lighter weight and better integration, while improving performance and reliability,” Sui said. “For dexterous hands specifically, more DOF is not always better, and different applications require different levels of dexterity.”“We expect component development to become increasingly application-driven rather than specification-driven,” she added.Chowdhury said the hand may not be where the contest for market dominance is decided."The real thing that will distinguish humanoids and make them a viable technology is the brain," he said. “These robotics foundation models: VLAs [vision-language-action models] and world models that enable robots to perform general tasks in new and novel situations. This is incredibly hard and the crux of the entire market.”But that could, he added, change as robots leave the factory floor."Force feedback and a sense of touch are very important if we want to push the technology to new applications and environments, including the home," he said.As these more complex applications are the ones Western companies are beginning to explore, the market preference for tightly integrated, customized hands could prove an advantage.About the AuthorContributing WriterScarlett Evans is a freelance writer with a focus on emerging technologies and the minerals industry. Previously, she served as assistant editor at IoT World Today, where she specialized in robotics and smart city technologies. Scarlett also has a background in the mining and resources sector, with experience at Mine Australia, Mine Technology and Power Technology. She joined Informa in April 2022 before transitioning to freelance work.