Las Vegas is gearing up for an invasion, but it won’t be aliens or another wave of Elvis impersonators. According to a preliminary list of exhibitors, CES 2026 is looking like it’s going to be the year of the humanoid robot, and China is rocking up with an entire army. A rather impressive—or perhaps slightly unnerving—twenty out of the thirty-four listed humanoid companies are hailing from China, representing nearly 60% of the field. This includes known players like Unitree and Fourier alongside a horde of other hopefuls, all seemingly ready to walk, talk, and awkwardly sashay their way into the tech spotlight.
Of course, it’s not entirely a one-horse race. The United States and South Korea are fielding their champions, with five companies each. The US lineup includes big hitters like Agility Robotics and Amazon Robotics, while South Korea rolls out the big guns with Hyundai Group - Boston Dynamics and a home electronics behemoth in LG, which is reportedly releasing its CLOiD home humanoid robot. Japan, Germany, the UK, and France are each sending a single, plucky contender, presumably there to keep the flag flying. The whole event is setting the scene for the showdown we’ve all been itching for, as you can read in our CES 2026: Vegas prepares for AI & robot overlords .
This blatant show of force isn’t just about flaunting their spiffy new kit. It’s a loud and clear signal of China’s colossal strategic investment in robotics finally reaching the global stage. While others have been demonstrating impressive one-off prototypes for years, China has been quietly beavering away, building an entire ecosystem. The sheer volume of companies suggests a national strategy aimed at flooding the market and establishing dominance before the market even properly takes shape, transforming the Las Vegas convention floor into the world’s most extravagant robot try-out.
Why is this important?
The CES 2026 exhibitor list is more than just a mere tradeshow roster; it’s a geopolitical crystal ball moment for the future of robotics. China’s numerical superiority points to a deliberate, state-backed push to leapfrog its Western rivals and spearhead the next wave of automation. This aggressive pivot from manufacturing powerhouse to high-tech innovator could reshape the global robotics landscape, challenging the long-held dominance of US and South Korean firms and signalling that the race for the first commercially viable, mass-market humanoid robot is entering a white-hot new phase.
