Humanoid robots have become one of the hottest investment themes, with a basket of Asian-related stocks rising more than 70% over the past year. The technology stole the show at CES 2026 with eye-opening demos from Boston Dynamics and Unitree, while expectations for Tesla's Optimus are increasing as the company races toward production this year.

Yet, expectations may be outpacing commercial reality. While some street estimates project revenue in the hundreds of billions, Bloomberg Intelligence takes a more measured view, forecasting a $5 billion total addressable market for automotive assembly by 2035.

Takeshi Kitaura, senior industrials analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, joins host John Lee to dissect the sector's outlook. They explore the emergence of “physical AI”, the viability of replacing human labor on factory floors, and whether the US or China holds the advantage in this evolving race.

Humanoid robots have become one of the hottest investment themes, with a basket of Asian-related stocks rising more than 70% over the past year. The technology stole the show at CES 2026 with eye-opening demos from Boston Dynamics and Unitree, while expectations for Tesla's Optimus are increasing as the company races toward production this year.
Yet, expectations may be outpacing commercial reality. While some street estimates project revenue in the hundreds of billions, Bloomberg Intelligence takes a more measured view, forecasting a $5 billion total addressable market for automotive assembly by 2035.
Takeshi Kitaura, senior industrials analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, joins host John Lee to dissect the sector's outlook. They explore the emergence of &ldquo;physical AI&rdquo;, the viability of replacing human labor on factory floors, and whether the US or China holds the advantage in this evolving race.

Some of the world's largest and fastest-growing markets, economies and companies are in Asia. Every Thursday, John Lee from Bloomberg Intelligence and Katia Dmitrieva from Bloomberg News speak with experts and newsmakers about the big ideas and trends moving money across the region.

Some of the world's largest and fastest-growing markets, economies and companies are in Asia. Every Thursday, John Lee from Bloomberg Intelligence and Katia Dmitrieva from Bloomberg News speak with experts and newsmakers about the big ideas and trends moving money across the region.

Asia Centric by Bloomberg Intelligence

Decoding the Multi-Billion Dollar Humanoid Market

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/804da958-a26c-485e-bb86-b3d9007efaa6/transcript