Collaborative robots market seen topping $15 billion by 2030

The Business Research Company’s 2026 report projects rapid global growth for collaborative robots, with demand driven by industrial automation, labor shortages and SME adoption. Asia-Pacific, led by China, is expected to dominate the market as hardware remains the largest segment and competition stays highly concentrated among a small group of players.

Why it matters: - Collaborative robots are moving from niche factory tools to a broader automation layer across manufacturing. - The market is projected to surpass $15 billion by 2030, signaling strong demand for safer, more flexible automation systems. - Growth could reshape industrial workflows in electronics, automotive, consumer goods and other high-volume sectors.

What happened: - The Business Research Company published its Collaborative Robots Global Market Report 2026 – Market Size, Trends, And Forecast 2026-2035. - The report puts the collaborative robots market above $15 billion by 2030. - The broader Smart Robots market is forecast to reach about $53 billion by 2030. - Collaborative robots are expected to account for about 29% of the Smart Robots market. - Within the Machinery industry, the segment is expected to represent about 0.3% of market value by 2030. - The report cites Asia-Pacific as the largest regional market in 2030, at $6 billion. - China is projected to be the top country market by 2030, at $4 billion. - Teradyne’s robotics automation division, including Universal Robots A/S, led global sales in 2025 with a 5% market share.

The details: - The global market is forecast to grow at a 30% compound annual growth rate through 2030. - Asia-Pacific is expected to rise from $2 billion in 2025 to $6 billion in 2030. - China is expected to grow from $1 billion in 2025 to $4 billion in 2030. - The Asia-Pacific expansion is tied to industrial automation, SME adoption, labor shortages, smart factories and investment in automation infrastructure across China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. - The China outlook is supported by precision assembly demand, quality inspection use cases, electronics and semiconductor growth, domestic robotics makers and government-backed smart manufacturing. - Hardware is expected to remain the largest component segment in 2030, reaching 65% of the market, or $10 billion. - Hardware demand is being pulled by robotic arms, sensors, controllers and end-effectors. - The report identifies up to 5 kg, up to 10 kg and over 10 kg as the main payload categories. - The main applications include assembly, pick and place, handling, packaging, quality testing, gluing and welding. - Hardware and software together are expected to exceed $11 billion in growth opportunities by 2030. - Between 2025 and 2030, hardware is projected to grow by $7 billion and software by $4 billion. - Delta Electronics launched its D-Bot series in India in February 2025, featuring safety protocols, high-speed operations and integration with SCADA and machine vision systems. - The report also highlights new analytical features in its 2026 market reports, including market attractiveness scoring, TAM analysis, company scoring matrix graphics, Excel-based forecasting dashboards, market hotspots infographics and updated graphics and tables. - The Business Research Company says it has published more than 30,000 reports across 27 industries and 60 geographies, drawing on 1,500,000 datasets, secondary research and interviews with industry leaders. - The company says it offers custom research packages including market entry, competitor tracking and supplier and distributor research.

Between the lines: - The report points to a market that is both fast-growing and still relatively concentrated. - The top 10 players held about 17% of revenue in 2025, which suggests room for competition but also substantial technical and regulatory barriers. - High-payload six-axis cobots, AI-enabled control platforms, machine vision and edge computing are becoming key differentiators. - The strongest demand signals come from factories trying to raise productivity while coping with labor shortages and rising wages. - SMEs are emerging as an important buyer base because cobots are easier to program and require less upfront infrastructure than traditional automation.

What's next: - The market is expected to keep expanding through 2030 as manufacturers add more collaborative systems to smart factories. - Vendors are likely to keep focusing on safety, flexibility, AI-driven control and predictive maintenance. - Regional growth should remain strongest in Asia-Pacific, especially China and other manufacturing hubs investing in automation. - Competition is likely to intensify around integrated hardware-software offerings and easier deployment for SMEs.

The bottom line: - Collaborative robots are becoming a mainstream industrial automation category, with the clearest growth coming from Asia, hardware-rich systems and factories that need more output with fewer workers.