Taiwan's machinery industry has gained strong momentum in recent years, with robust demand for semiconductors, AI applications, industrial automation and smart manufacturing driving sustained exports. The growth is benefiting not only equipment makers but also upstream suppliers of key components, including transmission-component manufacturers, demand for which has risen despite a prolonged downturn in the machine-tool market.

Toyota Motor has established Toyota Robotics, a dedicated robotics division, joining major global rivals in developing robotics technologies and using data from its manufacturing sites to accelerate commercial deployment.

Infineon Technologies is betting on RISC-V scalability with AURIX RC1, its first RISC-V-based microcontroller (MCU) platform, unveiled this week. A single instruction set lets the platform span everything from very small controllers to real-time vehicle computers and robotic motion controllers, so RC1 can serve automotive, robotics, and industrial customers at the same time.

Samsung SDS has begun construction of a 60MW AI data center in Gumi, South Korea, to support industrial robots and other AI applications. The project marks the first concrete step under Samsung Group's KRW60 trillion (approx. US$44.7 billion) investment plan for the country's southeastern Yeongnam region.

Humanoid robots require at least US$2,000 worth of semiconductors per unit—twice the content of an EV—and could drive the next semiconductor supercycle, Texas Instruments (TI) said. The company is expanding capacity for the next wave of demand rather than the current boom, according to William Feng, TI's Taiwan and South Asia sales and applications general manager.

Advantech expects strong growth in 2027, identifying semiconductor equipment, edge AI and robotics as its principal growth engines. The Taiwanese industrial computing company reported robust orders across North America, China, Europe and Taiwan, although demand in parts of Southeast Asia and other emerging markets remains subdued. It is also monitoring potential US policy changes following the midterm elections.

Bosch plans to create a dedicated semiconductor division as it seeks more business in robotics, AI infrastructure, and manufacturing for external customers, extending a chip strategy rooted in automotive electronics into additional markets.

Although robots received less coverage at Foxconn's 2026 Hon Hai Tech Day (HHTD 26) than in 2025, the company demonstrated the confidence of a global manufacturing leader by looking beyond the humanoid, bipedal form factor. Instead, it highlighted industrial and medical robots, supply-chain partners, and physical intelligence technologies to show how different robotic platforms can serve specialized industries.

Nvidia will showcase its expanding partnerships with South Korean companies at AI Day Seoul, where Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix will present semiconductor development cases using Nvidia AI technologies. LG Electronics and Doosan Robotics will demonstrate robotics technologies, while SK Telecom (SKT), Naver Cloud, and Coupang will discuss the development and operation of AI data centers and infrastructure.

Samsung Electronics is reportedly in talks with Japanese motor maker Nidec to jointly develop robot motors as the South Korean company expands its humanoid robotics business and pushes to automate its factories.

JPP Holding's Thai operating arm, Jinpao Precision Industry, joined Praksa subdistrict authorities in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand, on October 31 to hold the finals of the Jinpao–Praksa automation and robotics innovation competition, strengthening its efforts to develop AI and smart-manufacturing talent locally. Chairman Chung Kuo-sung said corporate philanthropy should involve long-term engagement with local communities rather than one-time donations.

Foxconn is expanding its AI capabilities into clinical workflows, medical robotics and healthcare manufacturing, working with hospitals, equipment makers and technology partners to build an integrated smart healthcare ecosystem. Its strategy follows an ecosystem-to-clinical deployment framework spanning products, edge-cloud computing and software-hardware integration, reflecting Nvidia's five-layer AI architecture.

Meta is accelerating its humanoid robotics ambitions through a partnership with Chinese robotics company Fourier, having developed an initial prototype and begun work on a second version as it explores the potential of AI-powered household assistants.

Nvidia's robotics partnerships in South Korea are moving beyond initial agreements, with LG Electronics beginning partial operations at its robot-training Data Factory and LG Innotek expanding cooperation on sensing technologies. Hyundai Motor Group, another Nvidia partner, has also outlined new steps toward building AI infrastructure for robotics and autonomous driving.

Hon Hai Tech Day 2026 (HHTD 26) continued to focus on next-generation AI infrastructure. Although the event featured slightly fewer robots than in 2025, it still maintained a dedicated robotics exhibition area where Foxconn and its partners showcased the latest developments in smart manufacturing technology. Participants included KUKA, ABB, and Yaskawa, which are among the four major robotics families, as well as Japanese passive-component manufacturer TDK. Taiwan-based companies including Hiwin, TM Robot, and TECO also joined the exhibition.

The rapid development of AI robotics applications is driving a sharp increase in semiconductor computing requirements. According to DIGITIMES Intelligence, Nvidia is set to dominate the 2026 AI robotics computing IC market with a 69% share, far outpacing Intel (11%), Qualcomm (5%), and AMD (2%). Beyond raw computing power, Nvidia's comprehensive software ecosystem is the critical factor leaving competitors in its wake.

Citing a grave threat to national security and the vulnerability of American critical infrastructure, President Donald J. Trump has directed the Secretary of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to initiate immediate trade negotiations regarding foreign imports of industrial machinery, robotics, and their components.

Texas Instruments (TI) and NXP Semiconductors both reported 40% to 50% year-over-year growth in their industrial businesses during their latest earnings calls for the third quarter of 2026, citing AI data-center construction and robotics as key growth drivers. TI's industrial revenue reached its highest level in four years, while NXP's industrial and IoT business grew 39% year-over-year.

Chinese AI, robotics, and semiconductor stocks have suffered a steep sell-off in less than four months, casting a shadow over Beijing's push to achieve global technology leadership. According to Reuters, the Shanghai STAR 50 Index has fallen about 40% from its June peak, wiping out approximately US$480 billion in market value across AI and semiconductor components.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong marked his fourth anniversary as chairman on October 27, 2026, by visiting a robotics research center, where he reviewed humanoid robot technology and preparations for commercialization, instead of holding a commemorative event. As Samsung integrates its research organizations and plans manufacturing-floor applications, robotics is emerging as a key pillar of its physical AI strategy.

Chinese robotics maker Unitree Robotics reported a 55.71% year-over-year increase in revenue to CNY1.82 billion (US$273 million) for the first nine months of 2026, driven by product innovation and business expansion, according to its third-quarter report released on October 28.

Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience (DX) division has established its first overseas research and development site for manufacturing technology in Suzhou, China, leveraging the city's robotics and automation ecosystem to develop technologies for Samsung's global factories.

South Korean automotive supplier SL is considering deploying its mobile dual-arm robot at a US factory in 2027 or 2028, potentially marking the system's first overseas deployment, a company representative said in an interview with DIGITIMES at FIX 2026 in Daegu on October 24.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-Yong is reportedly set to visit the company's Robotics eXperience (RX) business unit in Seoul's Umyeon-dong by the end of October to review humanoid robot development and preparations for CES 2027. If the visit takes place, it will be Lee's first visit since the organization was established, highlighting Samsung's strategy of commercializing robots through manufacturing applications.

After GPT-6 Astra launched in early September 2026, researchers quickly put it through Physical AI and robotics benchmarks. In some tests, it outperformed specialized models trained on large amounts of robot data.