Andrew King, CEO of RoboStrategy, discusses humanoid robotics and investment with John Koetsier on NEXT.
King says investor interest in robotics is growing, pointing to Unitree’s reported $66 billion public market valuation after a private valuation of about $1.8 billion. He cautions that humanoid companies differ in team strength, technology, and ability to commercialize. He names Tesla Optimus, Figure AI, and Apptronik as companies he believes can bring capable humanoids to market, while saying that public-market investors should do deep diligence.
King says RoboStrategy has not yet made a humanoid investment in Europe, though he is speaking with UMA and sees Genesis AI as interesting for its full-stack approach and use of simulation. In the supply chain, he sees potential for durable advantages in actuators and motors, where existing designs involve trade-offs in precision, manufacturability, and responsiveness. RoboStrategy led the pre-seed round for Eccentric Machines, whose early actuator design King finds promising.
Discussing FCC restrictions on foreign-made robots, King expects the government may adjust requirements, as he says it did with drone rules. He says existing Chinese robot models already sold in the US can still be imported, while restrictions on newer models could push researchers toward domestic options. He describes lower-cost developer robots as useful research platforms, distinct from machines intended for factory or logistics work.
King says the Chinese humanoid field includes more than 100 companies and names Galbot, Astribot, EngineAI, and LimX as companies RoboStrategy follows. He compares future robot customization to assembling with LEGO: users could choose hands or other end effectors and develop skills for different tasks. He sees humanoids as adaptable platforms, similar in concept to smartphones.
King estimates the opportunity at tens of trillions of dollars, based on human physical labor, possible uses in space, and lower labor costs that could support more manufacturing. As an example, he says a $50,000 robot sold in volumes of 10 million or 100 million annually could imply trillions in revenue. He expects millions of humanoids around 2028 or 2029 and common use in some homes by 2030, while noting that physical production may slow adoption compared with software.
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