yann lecun

Everyone talks about AI. But if AI is the brain, robotics is the body—and there’s a global arms race to build it.

Right now, China dominates manufacturing. They produce the majority of the world’s industrial robots. But here’s the twist: U.S. robotics startups are coming for the crown, and they’re doing it differently.

Instead of chasing mass production, American founders are going lean, vertical, and software-first:

1. Vertical Integration – Startups like Agility Robotics and Figure AI aren’t just building robots—they’re designing full-stack systems with proprietary AI, hardware, and business models.
2. Service & Labor Automation – With rising labor costs in the U.S., robots are stepping into logistics, agriculture, construction, and elder care. These aren’t export products—they’re replacing domestic labor.
3. Defense-Backed Acceleration – DARPA, the DoD, and even NASA are throwing money at autonomous systems. Think less “Roomba,” more “robotic soldier.”
4. Silicon Valley Meets Hardware – The software mindset (iteration, scale, UX) is hitting hardware. VCs are waking up to the fact that robotics is no longer a 10-year moonshot—it’s a 3-year path to revenue.

Meanwhile, China’s edge is in cost and scale, but it faces growing trade restrictions, limited access to cutting-edge AI chips, and skepticism in Western markets.

Bottom line? The next decade of robotics won’t be decided in factories—it’ll be decided in who builds systems that solve real-world pain fast.

The U.S. has the software. The U.S. has the venture money. Will the U.S. come out ahead at the end?