The biggest industrial robot manufacturers in 2026 are still the “big four”: FANUC and Yaskawa of Japan, ABB (Switzerland, now being sold to SoftBank) and KUKA (Germany, owned by China’s Midea). Behind them come Japanese specialists such as Kawasaki, Nachi, Epson and Denso, the cobot maker Universal Robots, and a fast-growing group of Chinese makers led by Estun. Chinese brands now supply more than half of the robots installed in China, the world’s largest market. Ranked by revenue across all robot types, including surgical and consumer robots, see the largest robotics companies.
The market these makers sell into
The International Federation of Robotics’ World Robotics 2026 release (September 24, 2026) counts more than 600,000 industrial robots installed worldwide in 2025, up 11%, and 5 million now operating in factories. Installations by country in 2025:
- China: 354,000, 59% of the world total
- United States: almost 38,500, now ahead of Japan
- Japan: 36,219
- South Korea: 30,000
- Germany: fewer than 25,000
In China, IFR’s China release says domestic manufacturers installed 195,000 units, a 55% share, down from 57% a year earlier. IFR expects 655,000 installations worldwide in 2026. For the robot structures these makers build, see our types of industrial robots.
The big four
- FANUC (Oshino, Japan; independent): 0.5–2,300 kg robots and CRX cobots. Robot sales ¥378.6 billion in the year ended March 2026, 44% of group sales, per its results reference. One million robots built by August 2023. FANUC lineup guide.
- Yaskawa (Kitakyushu, Japan; independent): Motoman arms from 0.5 to 800 kg, HC cobots and MOTOMAN NEXT. More than 600,000 robots installed, per Yaskawa Motoman. Yaskawa lineup guide.
- ABB Robotics (Zurich; being sold to SoftBank): arms from 1.5 to 800 kg, GoFa and PoWa cobots, Flexley mobile robots. 2024 revenue $2.3 billion; ABB’s Q3 2026 report expects the sale to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. ABB Robotics guide.
- KUKA (Augsburg, Germany; owned by Midea Group): arms from 3 to 1,300 kg and LBR cobots. Group sales €3.9 billion in 2025, per its annual report, including automation systems. KUKA lineup guide.
How the four differ on controllers, languages and ROS 2 is in our FANUC vs ABB vs KUKA vs Yaskawa comparison.
Other Japanese and European makers
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Japan): robot business revenue ¥92.9 billion in the year ended March 2026, per its results presentation. Strong in spot welding, painting and semiconductor wafer handling.
- Nachi-Fujikoshi (Japan): robot sales ¥25.25 billion in the year ended November 2025, about 11% of company sales, per its IR presentation. It says it built the first motor-driven spot-welding robot in 1979.
- Epson Robots (Japan): says it holds the top global share of the SCARA robot market, citing Fuji Keizai 2024 data on its corporate page. The robot of choice for small-part assembly in electronics.
- Denso Wave and Mitsubishi Electric (Japan): small and mid-size arms and SCARA robots, widely used in electronics and car parts. Neither reports robot revenue separately.
- Stäubli (Switzerland) and Comau (Italy): Stäubli is known for clean-room and food-grade arms; Comau, long part of Fiat and Stellantis, is now majority-owned by One Equity Partners, with Stellantis as a minority holder.
Cobot makers
- Universal Robots (Denmark; owned by Teradyne): the largest cobot-only maker. Teradyne’s 2025 annual report says it has sold more than 110,000 cobots. Universal Robots lineup guide.
- Techman Robot (Taiwan; a Quanta Computer subsidiary): cobots with built-in cameras.
- Doosan Robotics and HD Hyundai Robotics (South Korea): Doosan sells cobots only and reported preliminary 2025 revenue of ₩33.0 billion; HD Hyundai Robotics, Korea’s largest industrial robot maker by sales, makes both heavy industrial arms and cobots.
Chinese makers
- Estun (Nanjing): industrial robot and systems revenue of RMB 4.0 billion in 2025, up 32%, per its Hong Kong annual results filing. It says it has been China’s top domestic robot brand for eight years.
- Inovance (Shenzhen): a motion-control company that also makes SCARA and six-axis robots; it filed for a Hong Kong listing in April 2026.
- Efort (Wuhu) and Siasun (Shenyang): long-established Chinese makers of industrial arms and mobile robots.
Chinese makers sell mostly at home today. Western buyers often meet them through integrators or private-label arms, and some public-sector buyers screen them out on procurement rules.
How to use this list
If you buy through an integrator, the robot maker usually comes with that choice: integrators work with one or two brands they support. Budget references are in how much an industrial robot costs. Start with the job: our guide to choosing an arm by payload, reach and accuracy turns a task into a short list of models, and our quote checklist helps compare bids from different brands on the same scope. For robots that move goods rather than parts, see our guide to AMRs and AGVs.
IFR data and company reports checked October 23, 2026.