China’s humanoid robot edge | Mckinsey & Co

June 10, 2026: Humanoid robots are approaching an inflection point, and their path from prototypes to real-world deployment is accelerating. How the supply chain matures will shape the pace and economics of humanoid deployment over the next decade. What makes the supply chain picture distinctive is the mismatch between where value concentrates and where the supplier ecosystem is ready for high-volume production, note McKinsey’s Ani Kelkar, Christian Jansen, Erik Sparre, Mark Patel, Mikael Robertson, and coauthors. Many high-impact humanoid components overlap structurally with the electric-vehicle (EV) value chain. As a result, China—with its strong EV ecosystem—benefits and holds a significant share of capacity for several humanoid components.