Global Quadruped Robot Shipments Reach 35,000 in H1 2026, Zhiyuan Grows Rapidly

Quadruped robots have long been a frontier of robotics research. In 2015, Boston Dynamics released a Spot-Classic demonstration video. The motor-driven prototype could walk stably indoors and outdoors, follow a human jogging, and traverse obstacles, drawing widespread attention across the global tech industry.

A decade later, the quadruped robot industry has moved from laboratory capability demonstrations to routine deployment in real business scenarios. China has been a central force in this transformation. Leveraging self-developed core hardware and foundational technology stacks, Chinese quadruped robot companies have evolved from important market participants into leaders in technology and standards.

In 2025, global quadruped robot shipments reached 46,000 units, and total industry revenue approached US$700 million, including supporting software and hardware. Chinese companies contributed more than 90% of the market share. The 2015 demonstration helped inspire a wave of investment and research into legged locomotion worldwide.

In the first half of 2026, the global quadruped robot market maintained rapid growth, and leading companies entered a key window for accelerating commercialization. On one hand, they continued to deepen entertainment and education tracks and expand domestic and overseas markets. On the other hand, technology leaders accelerated penetration into vertical industries such as security patrol, industrial inspection, fire emergency response, and logistics transportation, achieving scaled deployment. This dual approach reflects a broader industry transition from showcase applications to operational value.

In H1 2026, global quadruped robot shipments approached 35,000 units, with 40% coming from industry applications. Demand for medium and large quadruped robots grew significantly.

By vendor, Unitree Robotics ranked first with a 37% market share. Unitree started commercialization earlier and has developed a rich product and technology matrix around entertainment and education, along with a relatively complete secondary development ecosystem. It has accumulated many domestic and overseas customers in research and education. With self-developed core hardware and motion control algorithms, its small quadruped robots achieve relatively high gross margins. In H1 2026, entertainment and education applications accounted for over 70% of Unitree's quadruped shipments. In the industry application segment, however, Unitree held a 17.6% share, ranking fourth, with weaker growth in that area.

Zhiyuan KuTuo showed the most obvious growth. Founded in August 2025, its business emerged from Zhiyuan's Lingxi product line and inherited Zhiyuan's full-stack technical capabilities. Focusing on core industry application scenarios, it quickly launched a complete product matrix covering small to medium and large models. According to Counterpoint Research, in H1 2026 Zhiyuan KuTuo secured a 16.3% market share. In terms of shipment structure, the B-end industry market, which has greater potential and higher unit value, accounted for nearly 70%, while overseas markets also reached 40% of total shipments. Its customer structure is becoming more diversified. Thanks to forward-looking product planning and market layout, Zhiyuan KuTuo's growth is not merely scale expansion but simultaneous improvement in scale and quality. Zhiyuan KuTuo's rapid rise illustrates how full-stack robotics capabilities can be transferred to quadruped platforms and commercialized quickly.

Counterpoint Research forecasts that global quadruped robot shipments will exceed 90,000 units for the first time in 2026, with annual revenue expected to reach US$1.5 billion. Revenue contributed by B-end industry applications will continue to exceed that from entertainment and education scenarios.

In the long term, although entertainment, education, and home consumer tracks still have considerable growth potential, industry applications have become the core engine driving industry scale growth, and this trend is established. By 2030, the global quadruped robot market is expected to exceed US$10 billion, with a compound annual growth rate above 60%, of which industrial inspection and security patrol account for about 60%. The market's center of gravity is shifting from consumer and educational use toward industrial productivity. Industry applications are therefore expected to remain the primary growth driver through 2030.