Humanoid robots are having a moment—from viral videos to billion-dollar valuations. The reality behind the headlines is more complex. While demonstrations dazzle, most deployments remain early-stage, with heavy reliance on human supervision. These robots, typically bipedal with dexterous movement, advanced sensing and vision, and AI-powered reasoning, drew about $2.5 billion in venture capital investment in 2024. Expectations for their deployment are partly driven by demand: Demographic changes in some advanced economies could lead to labor shortages as working-age populations decline by up to 25%. Humanoids, along with other types of robots (industrial, mobile, collaborative with humans), are part of an expanding automation toolkit to address workforce gaps and productivity challenges. For executives navigating automation strategies, understanding the real technology trajectory is critical. Companies making investment decisions need to understand which capabilities are advancing fastest, and what realistic adoption timelines look like across industries.

Full report : With capabilities evolving rapidly, now is the time to begin assessing when and how bipedal robots may change industries.