(Yicai) July 10 -- The global humanoid robot population will likely exceed 300 million by 2050, while the market's value may reach between USD1.4 trillion and USD1.7 trillion, according to a report by Swiss banking giant UBS.

Two million androids are expected to be at work within a decade, with global demand topping 86 million units per year by 2050, according to UBS' recent report based on insights and forecasts from over 30 analysts across 25 industries. This reflects compound annual growth of 40 percent over the next 25 years.

In addition, the price and cost of humanoid robots could decline by more than 70 percent over the next two decades, the report said.

Considering technological and regulatory hurdles, the "electric vehicle moment" for androids may not happen before 2030, Phyllis Wang, industrials analyst for China at UBS Securities, said on July 7, defining the moment as when technological bottlenecks were resolved and sales surged from a million to tens of millions within five years.

Upstream players in the sector, such as component and material suppliers, will benefit the most in the short to medium term, according to the report. However, midstream players, including complete set manufacturers and producers, may face financial pressure due to heavy hardware, software, and ecosystem development investments, with significant challenges expected over the next five years before industry dominance likely shifts back to them in the long term.

Humanoid robots' overall productivity is unlikely to be significantly boosted in the short term, but their development could offer solutions to demographic bottlenecks and reshape the relationship between capital and labor in low-productivity manufacturing sectors.

China and the United States are the two largest humanoid robot markets by investment and financing, but they differ in demand, supply, and policy approaches.

China has a strong demand for industrial manufacturing applications, while the US tries to use androids to address labor shortages and support domestic production reshoring. The former's efforts are heavily government-backed, while the latter are mostly driven by the private sector.

Editor: Martin Kadiv