In the 'Actuators' theme published last Thursday, June 18th, I highlight some of the manufacturers listed in the U.S. and in other investable markets (Japan, UK, France, Switzerland)
A blog, published coincidentally in Substack early June in ‘Core Memory’ by Kylie Robison, makes the case for the hardware, especially of the small unobtrusive kind, and for the growth potential of the technology
To quote Kylie
Actuators are the small, unheralded engines of modern comfort. More to the point, for the future of industry, they are the foundation of modern hardware, making robot arms move, factories hum and weapons weapon.
It’s part of a machine that turns energy — electric, hydraulic, pneumatic — into motion. An electric actuator, which is the one we care the most about here, is usually a package of three things: a motor (the thing that spins), control electronics (that tell it how fast and how hard), and gearing (that trades speed for torque so it can push or hold weight). Actuators can move in a straight line or in a circular motion, known as linear or rotary, respectively.
Kylie suggests that non-Chinese manufacturers of the widget are 'also-ran' because as it happens 'Most of them are made in China.'
This is not true as far as the major players listed in my selection are concerned because these legacy firms hold strong stakes in industrial automation and flow processes (such as in water networks, chemical flows and renewable energy)
However it is quite true in the new technologies China has been building from the ground up, the drones, the electrical vehicles and the humanoids
And the suggestion that China makes 'most of them' might mildly understates reality
China is producing hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions, and even more actuators of all kinds, serving the global technologiy supply chains of novel industries
The engines span the entire array
- from micro and mini linear actuators for medical devices (like drug pumps and surgical robots), compact consumer electronics, aerospace systems, and micro-robotics
- to high volume applications in the automotive industry for electrification, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automation
- all the way to high-force electromechanical and servo-driven devices capable of generating between 20,000 to over 50,000 pounds of force requiring the highest degree of precision, as in industrial valve and sluice gate control or in aerospace and defense ( for instance inflight control simulation systems and engine control)
The industry mirrors the diversity in segments of actuator applications
- Chinese manufacturing in the devices dominates the high volume, high demand markets such as the automotive industry
- Non-Chinese industrial groups (such as ABB, SMC or Emerson) hold strong positions in flow control or industrial automation
- Mid Cap firms carve specialized niches with integrated sensors and embedded intelligence into actuators
An investor needs to make assumptions on the growth potential of the American, European and Japanese manufacturers of my Actuators theme
- what capacity must stay 'at home' or be brought home on security grounds (non-military in utilities infrastruures and miliary) ?
- what product lines are deeply embedded in China ?
- what Chinese technical progress in actuators might endanger legacy manufacturers in their traditional markets ?
For non-Chinese firms, chasing every application in the field would be like chasing two rabbits: both will escape
Advance in R&D will be the 'deal breaker' in new product ranges
Kylie explains China’s dominance in actuator manufacturing just like me in A 21st Industrial Revolution
- huge volume
- low price
- sophisticated network of highly specialized – and technically qualified – component manufacturers
What makes China’s specialized production runs hard to beat, and probably impossible to imitate, is their status of key suppliers in industries which have achieved global market positions
Drones came first
Founded in 2006, DJI, the Shenzhen firm holds over 90% of the global consumer market and nearly 70% of the overall drone sector (SCSP report 2025).
Innovation drives a rapid 12-to-18-months product creation cycle, with an impressive timeline to show for it – and an estimated 4 000 to 4 500 persons dedicated to R&D (out of a total workforce of 14 000)
In 2017, the early days preparing for DJI’s global dominance, I introduced an investment theme for drone manufacturing
My comment, back then, sounds bitter sweet
3-D Robotics, a one-time US hopeful, abandoned the hardware production [of drones] altogether after failing to compete with DJI on price and speed in bringing innovation to market. In July '17, the company announced a partnership with their former competitor, integrating its Site-Scan software on the China made drones.
With the many potential applications of Site Scan, holding construction projects to the exact plan or providing aerial mapping and object surveillance in almost any industry - from agriculture to control of infrastructures - the commercial reach of DJI extends ever further
Chinese patents in drone actuators cover high-power density motors, cooling systems, and servo mechanics that optimize Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) endurance and payload capacity
The actuator manufacturers have upgraded and innovated to keep up with DJI’s progress
Expanding beyond basic propulsion, the patents detail actuators that act as interfaces between drones and robotic payloads
Robotic integration is expected to advance both commercial and industrial drone technologies
Electric vehicles came next
As Kylie tells it,
“China’s rush to go all-in on electric vehicles gave it exactly the industrial stack that motion-based hardware runs on: batteries, power electronics, sensors, precision motors, and the rare-earth magnets that sit at the heart of any electric motor. Tens of millions of EVs later, China controls both the assembly and the whole supply chain beneath it, down to the magnet processing. Chinese automakers produced roughly 60% of all electric cars sold worldwide in 2025.”
"Electric car sales grew by 20% globally to exceed 20 million in 2025, meaning one-quarter of all new cars sold were electric, expected to grow to 23 million in 2026, representing 28% of total car sales."
In 2025, China EV produced 70% of global EV sales (14 million vehicles) and exported 2.6 million EVs (including hybrids)
In 5 months 2026 (January-May), Chinese EV exports were on track with strong growth at close to 1.35 million vehicles
Millions upon millions of actuators, 30 to 100 per car, are manufactured to convert electronic signals into physical movement for everything from steering to temperature
And the flywheel keeps flying with robotics
Kylie again
"There is a blossoming third industry here: robotics. China accounted for nearly 90% of the humanoid market last year. It’s still a really tiny market, with somewhere between 13,000 and 18,000 humanoids sold around the world in 2025. But those robots require a load of actuators, which eat up between 40% to 60% of the cost of building a humanoid"
One specialized firm, Fingelli Automations, describes potential industry demand
"Every moving part on a humanoid robot — every joint in the legs, arms, hands, torso, and neck — requires at least one actuator. Without actuators, a robot is just a metal skeleton. The actuator is what makes it move, lift, grip, walk, and balance. It is, without exaggeration, the most critical component on the entire machine."
And these drive systems are critical to generate torque (to lift the robot’s own weight), absorb shockwaves at each step, balance dynamically to stay upright and execute complex tasks (like gripping an object)
Actuators are the stars of humanoids’ physical performance, bar none
Projecting sales of humanoids by 2030 is like throwing darts, blindfolded – and estimates vary from 38.000 at the conservative end of the scale to 1 million units (Goldman Sachs) and way beyond… with Tesla’s Musk penciling 1 million units for his Optimus robots alone
Nobody knows what the future portends...
But for one thing, the actuators are coming from China
Patent applications, a window into the future
A silent battle is being waged around actuator research
And China is the engine of disruption
Basics of the Chinese industrial strategy are similar to the country's drive in electrical vehicles
- identify a massive new consumer market
- subsidize research without limits
- establish supply chains behind regulatory barriers for key components, such as batteries
- encourage (or compel) local governments to support audacious start-ups
- let the best win (such as CATL, now dominant in battery production and research)
No one may be quite sure what to make of humanoids today
Patent applications might be telling...with China crowding in specailized applications
- more than 500 000 patents have been analyzed globally, with Chinese focus on torque control (in applications requiring precise force control,) and motor thermal management of robot actuators
- Chinese interest in patents for haptic actuators (convertsing electrical signals into physical, tactile sensations) is growing with wide range of applications
A double 'overlap' may be playing out in favor of China
- More than half of the components in a humanoid are sourced from EVs, smartphones and drone supply chains (motors, batteries and sensors)
- R&D of humanoid actuators push their performance limits in every dimension - strength, precision, thermal and intelligence
The legacy firms which still dominate the global market (China is said to hold a 26% share)
The trajectory of the legacy automotive industry, confronted to the Chinese EV juggernaut, is not lost on these large manufacturing conglomerates