According to the International Federation of Robotics, the global humanoid market size is expected to reach a massive market of approximately 92 trillion won, or 66 billion dollars, by 2032. At the recently concluded CES 2025, the world's largest consumer electronics and IT show, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang once again emphasized 14 humanoid robotics companies and singled out robot development platforms and support solutions as core businesses.

The United States is the leading country in robotics development, with advanced humanoid robot prototypes and releases from companies such as Tesla and Boston Dynamics surprising the public with their performance demonstrations. Not to be outdone, many Chinese companies are spurring the development of robotics products by collaborating with Nvidia.

In this series, we take a look at 14 humanoid robotics companies introduced by NVIDIA and highlight their key features.

■ Hyundai Motors is the major shareholder of Boston Dynamics' 'E-Atlas'

The next-generation humanoid robot, 'E-Atlas (All New Atlas)', developed by Boston Dynamics, a well-known American affiliate acquired by Hyundai Motor Company, is an electric-powered robot that has evolved from the existing hydraulic Atlas. Recent humanoid development is focusing on electric drives.

Although specific model information has not been disclosed for the E-Atlas, it is capable of advanced control functions such as △kinetic intelligence △dynamic manipulation △real-time recognition △model predictive control, and is promoting the development of robot intelligence through AI model building and learning.

Last year, Boston Dynamics celebrated the Halloween seasonAh, Atlas has released a video of itself storing parts in a storage unit. This shows that it is not a pre-programmed task, but rather it is recognizing the surroundings in real time and performing the task of storing parts through its own perception and judgment.

Boston Dynamics said it plans to “extend the scope of robot missions by improving perception, judgment, and control performance by utilizing generative AI, reinforcement learning, etc.” and is participating in the Early Access Program for the Humanoid Robot Developer Program in collaboration with NVIDIA to receive support for the virtual environment necessary for robot learning.

■ NASA Career, Apptronic 'Apollo'

Apptronik, a U.S. company, has developed more than 10 robots, including NASA's remote-controlled humanoid robot Valkyrie, and based on this, the humanoid robot Apollo was created.

Apptronic is looking to deploy Apollo in logistics tasks in warehouses and manufacturing plants in the short term, and is looking to expand robotics into a variety of fields, including construction, oil and gas, electronics manufacturing, retail and courier services, and elderly care in the future.

Apollo stands at 176cm tall, weighs 72.5kg and can lift 24kg. Its battery life is 4 hours and can operate for up to 22 hours with a replaceable battery pack. Its distinctive feature is its modular design, which allows the upper body to be detached and fixedly mounted on any mobile platform.

It can display the remaining battery capacity, the current task in progress and the expected completion time, the next scheduled task, etc. through the display panel on the chest, and it is characterized by being able to predict the direction of progress through the intentional movement of the face and head.

The core of Apollo’s design is the actuator, which is like the muscles of a robot. Apollo needs more than 35 core actuators to move and lift objects like a human, and the developers seem to have focused on implementing the repetitive tasks required for various movements and activities with as simple system components as possible.

■ Logistics Center Real-Time Deployment, Agility Robotics' 'Digit'

Agility Robotics, a U.S. company that has signed contracts with global logistics and distribution companies such as Amazon and GXO Logistics, is quickly gaining market leadership with its bipedal humanoid robot, Digit.

Digit stands at 175cm tall, weighs 45kg and can carry up to 16kg. It can move at a maximum speed of 1.5 m/s and is known to have an average working time of more than 8 hours, although this varies depending on the task.

Agility is promoting its strengths in material transport and classification management, and is proactively testing and delivering its products to logistics and distribution centers. It is one of the first humanoid robots to be put to practical use in the field.

The first mass-produced products were supplied in 2024, and the general market launch is scheduled for 2025. Agility opened a 6,500-square-meter robot manufacturing facility in Oregon, USA, in the second half of last year, and has plans to expand production to more than 10,000 robots per year.

■ Figure 'Figure 02', invested by OpenAI

FIGURE, based in California, USA, received approximately $675 million in investment from cutting-edge IT companies including OpenAI, Amazon, Nvidia, and Microsoft last year. Following the introduction of FIGURE 01, FIGURE 02 is being introduced, advancing technology in the humanoid robot and robot AI sectors.

The autonomous humanoid robot figure 02 is 168cm tall, weighs 70kg, and can carry objects weighing about 20kg. It has a maximum speed of 1.2m/s and is equipped with a battery that can be used continuously for up to 5 hours.

Figures is making real progress in verifying and developing its usability in manufacturing plants, including deploying robots at BMW factories and training them. On the 29th of last month, Figure CEO revealed through LinkedIn that he had delivered Figure 02 to the customer who purchased it.

Human labor accounts for 50% of the world's GDP, which is a market size of 42 trillion dollars. In addition, Figures is looking at the 700 million elderly people who need home care, and the future market for space exploration and construction outside the Earth.

In the general humanoid market, American startups are leading the market and technology with the support of global corporations. Nvidia is providing development solutions and platforms that serve as the foundation for these companies and is laying the foundation for the robotics ecosystem. It is expected that the joys and sorrows of each company will intersect as the robot market becomes more active in the future.