September 18, 2025
5 Humanoid Robotic Stocks To
Watch as the Industry Takes Off
Research / Thoughts From Themes
ShareHumanoid robotics is an emerging area of technology that is on the verge of a significant leap forward. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and materials science, humanoids are rapidly moving from the controlled environments of research labs into real-world settings.
For investors, there’s a theme with enormous long-term potential here; according to Citi Global Insights the industry could be worth $7 trillion by 20501 . With that in mind, here are five humanoid robotic stocks to watch as the industry begins to take off.
Tesla
It’s no secret that electric vehicle (EV) powerhouse Tesla (5.14%*) has been developing a humanoid robot in recent years. It started work on its “Optimus” robots back in 2021 and since then, the company has made significant strides, showcasing increasingly capable prototypes that can walk, talk, dance, serve drinks, and more.
Optimus - which stands at 173cm tall - is powered by a version of Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, adapted for bipedal navigation. This uses end-to-end neural networks for visual processing, motion planning, and self-calibration, relying on cameras for perception without the need for LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).
The robot's intelligence comes from Tesla's AI stack, integrated with the Grok AI assistant. This allows it to respond to questions in real time, enabling more natural and dynamic interaction.
Looking ahead, Tesla CEO Elon Musk sees humanoids as a key revenue driver for the company. In the past, he has said that eventually, Optimus could account for 80% of the company's revenue2.
His vision is that Optimus robots will be able to do “anything you want” including mowing your lawn, cleaning your kitchen, walking your dog, and picking up your groceries. And he is hoping that in the future, the company will be able to sell its humanoids for $20,000 to $30,000, which is less than the cost of a car.
In terms of production timelines, Tesla is planning to ramp up production in 2026 and 2027. However, this timeline should be taken with a grain of salt, as Musk has a history of being too optimistic when it comes to timing.
UBTECH Robotics
Founded in 2012, UBTECH Robotics (5.54%*) is a Chinese company that’s developing humanoid robotic products for industrial manufacturing, commercial services, and household companionship. Listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it has been named one of Fortune China’s Top 50 Technology Companies3 .
UBTECH has developed a full stack of humanoid robotic technologies. As a result, it has been able to create a range of different robots including:
The “Walker C”: This is a full-sized, intelligent humanoid designed for commercial use. It can be used to greet humans in exhibition halls and office buildings, offer intelligent tour guide services, and more.
The “Walker X”: This is an advanced robot that incorporates cutting-edge AI technologies. Capable of object recognition and self-researched facial recognition, it can learn how to understand and interact with its external environment.
The “Walker S”: This is an industrial humanoid robot that features a more human-like configuration. Equipped with a comprehensive perception system, it can be used on factory assembly lines, empowering industries with AI and robotics technologies.
The “Walker S1”: This is an industrial robot that has been introduced into vehicle manufacturing assembly lines to assist in car production. Features include 360-degree multimodal perception, dexterous hands, and the ability to understand tasks, make decisions based on live data, and work together with other humanoids.
It’s worth noting that UBTECH - which has over 2,000 robotic and AI-related patents - is the only humanoid robot company that has announced partnerships with multiple vehicle companies and that its Walker S series has already entered the production lines of many different companies. Vehicle companies it has partnered with include BYD, NIO, and Geely - all big names in the Chinese EV space.
Nvidia
Looking beyond humanoid robot manufacturers, one company in the supply chain that is worth highlighting is Nvidia (3.89%*). Not only is it producing advanced chips for robotics, but it is also building a comprehensive ecosystem designed to accelerate every stage of a robot's journey, from design to deployment.
One of Nvidia’s key robotic products is “Jetson Thor.” This is a high-performance platform designed to be the "brain" for next-generation robotics and physical AI applications. Featuring Blackwell GPUs, it brings server-class artificial intelligence computing to the edge, enabling complex, real-time AI workloads directly on robots. Currently, a range of leading robotics companies including Boston Dynamics and Agility Robotics are employing the technology.
Another important product in the company’s robotics portfolio is the Isaac GR00T blueprint for synthetic motion generation. This is designed to help developers generate synthetic motion data to train humanoid robots using imitation learning. With this product, it’s possible to generate exponentially large datasets from a small number of human demonstrations. So, it could help companies train robots more efficiently and potentially enable large-scale simulation of robot fleets.
With these kinds of innovative products, Nvidia is positioning itself not as a competitor to humanoid robot manufacturers like Tesla and XPeng, but as an indispensable platform provider that can power the entire industry. By providing the essential building blocks for AI training, simulation, and on-robot compute, it’s aiming to be a key enabler of the humanoid robotics revolution.
It’s worth noting that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes that humanoid robotics could potentially be “one of the largest industries ever.” His view is that the industry is on the verge of a “ChatGPT moment,” and that there could be a billion humanoids across the world by 20354.
Hesai Technology
While Tesla’s Optimus robots rely on cameras for perception, most other humanoid prototypes are using both cameras and LiDAR technology. Widely regarded as the “gold standard” in 3D environment sensing solutions, LiDAR emits laser pulses to create a precise, high-resolution 3D map of the environment and enable real-time obstacle detection and avoidance.
One company that specializes in this technology - and already has partnerships with several humanoid robotics businesses - is Hesai Technology (4.66%*). It’s a Chinese firm that was founded in 2014 and has had a lot of success working with autonomous vehicle companies in the past.
Earlier this year, Hesai launched a series of ultra-compact, ultra-hemispheric 3D LiDARs tailored for robotics and industrial applications. With a field of view of 360 degrees multiplied by 189 degrees, the product enables blind-spot-free perception meaning that it can potentially give humanoids a more complete understanding of their environments.
More recently, in August, Hesai announced that it had forged a strategic partnership with Chinese embodied intelligence start-up ROBOTERA5. It has developed several humanoid robots including the “L7,” a full-size bipedal that can be used for manufacturing, logistics, and other commercial applications, and the “Q5,” which is designed for the service industry.
It’s worth noting that Hesai holds the largest number of published patent applications for LiDAR technology globally. As of the end of 2024, it had over 1,500 patent applications6 - significantly more than rivals such as RoboSense, Ouster, and Luminar.
Given the large number of patent applications here, and the company’s experience in the autonomous driving market, Hesai looks well positioned to benefit from the growth of the robotics industry. With humanoids looking set for mass production in the years ahead, LiDAR technology could be in high demand.
*Weightings in the Themes Humanoid Robotics ETF as of September 17, 2025.
Introducing the Themes Humanoid Robotics ETF
Those interested in gaining diversified exposure to the humanoid robotics industry may wish to take a look at the Themes Humanoid Robotics ETF (BOTT). This seeks to track the Solactive Global Humanoid Robotics Index (SOLGHRBN), which identifies the largest 30 companies with a positive total return over the past 12 months in the following industry groups:
Factory automation equipment
General/processor/specialized semiconductors
Industrial machine parts and support equipment
Programmable logic and ASIC semiconductors
With this product, investors can gain access to dozens of companies in the robotics ecosystem. The fund’s expense ratio is 0.35%, making it one of the cheapest humanoid robot ETFs in the market.
Please see fund webpage for important disclosures and information about the fund.
Footnotes:
1Yahoo Finance, Humanoid robots could create a $7 trillion market in the next 25 years: Citi analysts, as of December 5, 2024
2CNBC, Musk looks past Tesla sales slump, says 80% of value will come from Optimus, as of September 2, 2025
3UBTECH, as of September 18, 2025
4Robostore, Humanoid Robotics Is Set to Become One of the Largest Industries Ever, as of October June 17, 2025
5Gasgoo, Hesai Technology teams up with ROBOTERA to explore collaborative perception technologies for robots, as of August 8, 2025
6HESAI, Hesai Strengthens Patent Portfolio with Swiss IP Acquisition, Advancing Next-Gen Solid-State Lidar FTX to Drive Robotics Revolution, as of February 27, 2025
