Korea's humanoid robots: what 22 robots and 28 supply records say about Samsung, Hyundai and LG

Summary

• Where things stand: Korean companies and institutes make 22 current humanoids (6.5% of 337 worldwide), and 16 of them are still prototypes.
• Analysis: Korea's presence comes more from parts and factories than from finished robots. Korean suppliers appear in 28 supply records, second only to China (49), and Hyundai Motor Group has put numbers on a US factory plan for Atlas. But only 3 of the 28 supply records are officially confirmed.
• Conclusion: For now, Korea is more likely to become "the country that supplies parts and factories to humanoids" than "the country that sells humanoids".

1. Where things stand: how many Korean humanoids are there?

In Wingchiki's robot database, Korean companies and institutes make 22 current humanoids. That is third after China (215) and the US (40). By launch year, the count grew from 2 in 2024 to 8 in 2025 and 8 in 2026 (to early November), a sharp rise over the last 2 years.

• Stage: ② Prototype 16, ③ Pilot 1, ④ Production 1, ⑤ On sale 4
• Form: biped 11, wheeled upper body 10, hybrid 1
• Purpose (overlapping): research & education 13, industrial & logistics 13, service 4, home 2
• On sale: Rainbow Robotics RB-Y1, ROBOTIS AI Worker and ROBOTIS OP3, AeiROBOT AIMY
• In production: ROBROS IGRIS-C

2. Analysis

2-1. Research institutes and startups lead on finished robots

5 of the 22 come from KAIST, KIMM, KIST, KITECH and Seoul National University. Government research institutes build their own platforms more often than in other countries.

• KAPEX, built by KIST with LG Electronics and LG AI Research, was officially unveiled on 13 November 2025 (Hellot, checked 2026-11-08).
• At CES 2026, LG Electronics unveiled CLOiD, a home robot with two arms and five-finger hands on a wheeled base.
• At its 2024 pre-sale, Rainbow Robotics priced the RB-Y1 at 90 million won for domestic research use and 130 million won for commercial use (excluding VAT) (Rainbow Robotics). By Wingchiki's data, more than 130 units had been sold by the end of 2025.
• AeiROBOT has 4 current models, the most of any Korean company. Its latest is the biped ALICE 5, assembled in May 2026.

2-2. Samsung and Hyundai are linked through stakes and factories, not their own models

No humanoid model is yet registered under either of the two group names that people search for most.

Hyundai Motor Group is the majority owner of Boston Dynamics, having bought an 80% stake in June 2021. At its CES 2026 media day (5 January 2026), the group said it would put Atlas into Metaplant America in Georgia from 2028, starting with parts sorting, with assembly work planned for 2030 or later. It also said it would build a robot production system of 30,000 units a year by 2028 (Herald Business, 5 January 2026, checked 2026-11-08).

At an investor event on 18 May 2026, it outlined plans to put more than 25,000 robots, including Atlas, into Hyundai and Kia plants, and an actuator factory with capacity of more than 350,000 units a year (Herald Business, 18 May 2026). All of these are company plans; actual deployment numbers have not been disclosed.

Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics. It bought 14.7% for 86.8 billion won in January 2023, then exercised a call option on 31 December 2024 to buy another 20.29% for 267.5 billion won (Wingchiki funding data, based on filings). No Samsung-branded humanoid has been unveiled yet.

2-3. Korea's real strength is parts supply

Splitting the 105 records in Wingchiki's supply chain data by supplier country gives China 49, Korea 28 and the US 18. The customers of Korean suppliers are Boston Dynamics (11), Tesla (5) and Figure (2), and the parts are actuators (7), batteries (6), vision (cameras and lidar, 6) and hands (3). Production capacity built in auto and electronics parts is carrying straight over.

2-4. But only 3 of the 28 are confirmed

The certainty of these records varies a lot.

• Official (3): Hyundai Mobis announced at CES 2026 that it will supply actuators from the start of Atlas production, its first customer in robotics (Smart Today, Hyundai Mobis release). On 21 September 2026, Samhyun announced it would begin supplying an unnamed overseas humanoid customer in North America from December. Wonik Robotics agreed with Meta FAIR in October 2024 to co-develop a robot hand.
• Reported (12): LG Energy Solution batteries for Boston Dynamics and Tesla, LG Innotek camera modules for Atlas, and others.
• Rumor (13): actuators and cameras for Tesla Optimus, candidates for Atlas exterior parts and lidar, and other cases where no contract has been confirmed.

Articles about Korean humanoids often mix "supplies" with "is named as a possible supplier". Wingchiki's supply chain page separates the three levels.

2-5. Investment is still small

Since 2023 there are only 10 funding records involving Korean companies. Even including Samsung Electronics' 2 Rainbow Robotics stake purchases and the data company Crowdworks, the disclosed amounts add up to about $450 million. Chinese companies have 93 records over the same period. The largest Korean case is a Series A of about 200 billion won that robot AI company RLWRLD was reported in August 2026 to be raising (completion not confirmed).

3. Conclusion: Wingchiki's view

The following is Wingchiki's opinion based on the data above.

1. Korea's realistic place is parts and factories. Only 4 of 22 finished robots are on sale, but the number of supply records is the second largest in the world. The data points to auto parts makers and battery makers entering the humanoid supply chain.
2. Hyundai Motor Group is more likely to become "the biggest first customer" than "a robot maker". Its Boston Dynamics stake, Hyundai Mobis actuators and the plan for 25,000 robots in group plants are tied together, so demand and supply are being built inside the group.
3. The biggest task is turning "possible suppliers" into "suppliers". How many of the 13 rumors become official contracts will show the real share of Korean parts makers.

4. Indicators to watch

• Whether the first Atlas deployment at Hyundai's Georgia plant starts in 2028 as planned, and whether actual pilot numbers are disclosed before then
• How many of the 13 Korean supply rumors are confirmed by official announcements
• Whether Samsung Electronics unveils its own humanoid, and whether any of Korea's 16 prototypes move to sale or production

Data basis and sources: Wingchiki robot, company, funding and supply data as of 2026-11-08. Countries follow the headquarters of the maker or supplier, so Boston Dynamics is counted as US. Supply records are graded Official (company announcement), Reported and Rumor. Hyundai Motor Group's CES and investor event remarks, the Hyundai Mobis supply announcement and the KAPEX launch date were rechecked against the original articles on 2026-11-08. Samsung Electronics' Rainbow Robotics stake purchases are based on filings recorded in Wingchiki's funding data. Stock prices and related stocks are not covered.