A New Turning Point in the Collaborative Robot Market: At the Forefront of Manufacturing Automation Innovation by 2025
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Rapid Growth and Technological Innovation in the Collaborative Robot Market
As of December 2025, the collaborative robot (cobot) market is achieving an annual growth rate of 25.3% globally, reaching a scale of $7.8 billion. This figure significantly surpasses the growth rate of the traditional industrial robot market, which stands at 8.2%, indicating a sharp increase in interest and investment in cobots within the manufacturing sector. Industry experts attribute this rapid growth trend, observed since the second half of 2024, to advancements in artificial intelligence technology, the sophistication of sensor technology, and innovative developments in human-robot interaction (HRI) technology.
Universal Robots, headquartered in Odense, Denmark, continues to lead the cobot market, holding approximately 32% of the global market share. The company recorded $1.2 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2025, a 41% increase compared to the same period the previous year, primarily driven by strong demand growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, sales in South Korea, China, and Japan increased by 67%, 52%, and 38%, respectively, positioning the Asian market as a key driver of cobot growth.
The South Korean collaborative robot market is also showing remarkable growth. According to the Korea Robotics Industry Association, the South Korean cobot market is expected to reach 920 billion won in 2025, a 58% increase from the previous year. This growth is largely supported by the South Korean government’s ‘Robot Industry Development Strategy 2030’ and manufacturing digital transformation policies. Domestic companies such as Hyundai Robotics and Doosan Robotics are actively leveraging this growth momentum, with Hyundai Robotics achieving 184 billion won in sales in the first half of 2025, a 73% increase from the same period the previous year.
From a technological perspective, the most significant change in the cobot market in 2025 is the full integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. AI-based robot simulation and training technologies, based on NVIDIA’s Isaac platform, are being widely applied in cobot development, significantly enhancing the learning capabilities and adaptability of robots. NVIDIA, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, reported a 89% increase in robot-related revenue in 2025, reaching $3.4 billion, with approximately 40% of this revenue generated from collaborative robot-related technologies.
Innovative Changes in Manufacturing Sites and Practical Application Cases
Currently, manufacturers worldwide are achieving both productivity improvements and cost reductions through cobots. According to the latest report from KUKA, headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, manufacturers that have adopted cobots have seen an average productivity increase of 34% and a 23% reduction in defect rates. Particularly, German automotive parts manufacturer Bosch announced that by introducing a total of 2,400 cobots in the first half of 2025, it increased the automation rate of its assembly lines to 78%, achieving an annual cost saving of 230 million euros.
In the Asian market, electronics manufacturers are particularly proactive in adopting cobots. Since early 2025, Samsung Electronics has introduced 1,200 units of the UR20 model from Denmark’s Universal Robots into its semiconductor post-processing lines, automating wafer handling and packaging processes. This has resulted in a 42% improvement in production efficiency for the line and significantly reduced the repetitive workload for workers. A Samsung Electronics representative evaluated that “the introduction of cobots has allowed workers to focus on more creative and value-added tasks.”
Japan’s FANUC has set a new standard for precision assembly work in 2025 by integrating advanced vision systems and force control technology into its CRX series cobots. The latest CRX-25iA model can perform complex assembly tasks with a precision of 0.02mm and is equipped with advanced sensor systems that ensure safety when collaborating with human workers. FANUC’s cobot-related revenue in the third quarter of 2025 increased by 56% compared to the same period the previous year, reaching $840 million, driven mainly by strong demand in the Asian and European markets.
ABB, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, has garnered significant attention in the market with the launch of its new GoFa series cobots in the second half of 2025. The GoFa CRB 15000 can handle a payload of 15kg and features safety functions that allow direct collaboration with humans, making it highly popular in manufacturing sites that require heavy material handling. ABB’s cobot division achieved sales of 1.4 billion Swiss francs in the first half of 2025, a 67% increase from the same period the previous year, accounting for approximately 18% of ABB’s total sales.
South Korean companies also hold a unique position in the cobot market. Doosan Robotics has shown strong growth in both domestic and international markets in 2025 through its M series and A series cobots. Particularly, the M1013 model offers a payload of 13kg and a reach of 1,300mm while maximizing space efficiency with its compact design. Doosan Robotics recorded sales of 78 billion won in the third quarter of 2025, an 84% increase from the same period the previous year, with approximately 60% of sales generated overseas. The company is expanding its market share, especially in North America and Europe, through partnerships with local system integrators.
Future Outlook and Investment Opportunity Analysis
The future outlook for the collaborative robot market is very positive. According to the latest report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the global cobot market is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of 22.8%, reaching a scale of $28 billion by 2030. The main drivers of this growth are the increasing demand for automation among small and medium-sized enterprises, advancements in artificial intelligence technology, and the intensifying issue of labor shortages. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for approximately 45% of the overall cobot market growth, with South Korea, China, and Japan anticipated to lead this growth.
From an investment perspective, venture capital and private equity investments in cobot-related companies are rapidly increasing. In the first half of 2025 alone, cobot-related startups worldwide attracted a total of $3.4 billion in investments, a 127% increase from the same period the previous year. Investments are particularly concentrated in AI-based robot control software, advanced sensor technology, and robot-human interface technology. In South Korea, a total of 1.2 trillion won in public and private investments is planned for the robotics industry in 2025 under the government’s ‘Robot Industry Promotion Policy,’ with approximately 40% expected to be allocated to the collaborative robot sector.
However, there are several challenges to the growth of the cobot market. First, the lack of technical standardization continues to pose compatibility issues. Currently, different manufacturers use different communication protocols and software platforms, making it difficult for users to integrate and operate cobots from various brands. Second, the high initial adoption cost acts as a barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt cobots. On average, the cost of adopting a cobot system ranges from $150,000 to $500,000, which is a significant burden for many small and medium-sized enterprises.
Safety and regulatory issues are also important considerations. Although cobots are designed for collaboration with humans, there are still concerns about workplace safety. Several cobot-related safety incidents that occurred in the first half of 2025 have highlighted the need for stricter safety standards and regulations across the industry. The European Union began implementing the AI Act in October 2025, which is expected to impact cobots equipped with AI functions. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is also preparing new robot safety guidelines to be applied from 2026, which will likely require additional development costs and certification processes for cobot manufacturers.
In conclusion, as of 2025, the collaborative robot market is experiencing rapid growth, achieving a perfect harmony of technological innovation and market demand. The advancements in artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and human-robot interaction technology are continuously enhancing the capabilities and safety of cobots, fundamentally changing the automation paradigm in the manufacturing industry. The cobot market is expected to maintain an average annual growth rate of over 20% over the next five years, with the Asia-Pacific region anticipated to lead this growth. For investors and companies, appropriately responding to this wave of change and capturing new opportunities will be a crucial task.
