Wire · market
China's AI cobots are no longer science fiction and millions of factory workers are about to find out
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Fusion42 · 24 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
China's cobot market shipped 49,500 units in 2025 with 45.59% year-over-year growth, driven by rising wages (6-8% annually since 2018) and labour scarcity; collaborative robots are now economically rational for factory managers at RMB 80,000-100,000 price points, with domestic manufacturers capturing 57% of the Chinese industrial robot market for the first time.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Robotics, Manufacturing Tech and Industrial Automation.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
If you build automation software, sensors, or vision systems for manufacturing, Chinese cobot makers have just solved the payback problem—machines now sell because wages rose, not because of hype, and they're learning at scale on factory floors you don't control. Your window to sell them components or integrations closes as they standardise their own supply chains.
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1 source · 24 Jul 2026
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