Morgan Stanley's China survey shows 'high' willingness to adopt humanoids

Investing.com -- Chinese companies appear eager to embrace humanoid robots even as today’s machines remain far from commercially ready, according to a new Morgan Stanley AlphaWise survey.

It was the bank’s first AlphaWise survey with C-suites across various industries in China.

Analyst Sheng Zhong told investors in a note that the firm found that “62% of respondents are likely to adopt in the next 3 years,” a result it says is both strong and, in some cases, surprising.

However, the technology has a long way to go. Morgan Stanley reports that “products are not ready,” with only 23% of respondents “satisfied with current products.”

Executives are said to have cited shortcomings in dexterity, functionality, and pricing. Cost is also a major barrier, as “92% of respondents” said robots must fall “sub-RMB200K” (about US$28,000) for mass adoption to become viable.

According to the survey, “Unitree is the most engaged brand, followed by DeepRobotics, UBTECH, and Midea.”

Still, most companies remain in a holding pattern, with the report noting that “only ~10% of respondents are currently evaluating or launching pilot projects.”

Even so, expectations for long-term labor substitution are substantial. Respondents believe “11% and 28% of jobs [could be] replaced by robots in the next 5 and 10 years, respectively.”

Morgan Stanley says the 62% adoption likelihood “may be optimistic,” given that the sample consists of large enterprises that already use robotics.

Yet the findings reinforce its constructive view of the sector. The firm writes that the survey “strengthens our positive long-term view on humanoid robots,” while cautioning that volume ramp-up will take time.

New models, government subsidies and potential IPOs could keep the theme prominent in 2026. Morgan Stanley highlights components as the earliest beneficiaries, naming Inovance, Leaderdrive, Hesai and Hengli Hydraulic.

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