First made-in-India wheeled humanoid for industrial use takes centre stage

Addverb plans to build 100 robots in the first year

Addverb Technologies — the country’s largest homegrown robotics company, in which Reliance holds a 54 per cent stake — is set

to commercially launch a made-in-India wheeled humanoid robot for industrial use. The rollout will begin in India before expanding to global markets. 

The robot will be priced lower than European and Japanese competitors, but at a premium to Chinese offerings. 

Explaining the company’s pricing strategy, Sangeet Kumar, cofounder and chief executive officer of Addverb, said, “A good Chinese humanoid robot is available for ₹50-75 lakh, while European and Japanese robots cost between ₹1 crore and ₹1.5 crore. We plan to price ours between the two. It took us a year and a half to build this robot.” 

Justifying the premium over Chinese rivals, Kumar said price alone does not drive industrial buying decisions. “What matters more is the assurance of service and trust in a product that has a lifespan of 20 years. There are several reports of Chinese robots collecting data and transmitting it to servers in China. We will charge a premium because we are a trusted source of supply to the world.” 

He added that Addverb uses Japanese and European components, which are considered more reliable than Chinese components, most of which are sourced domestically in China. 

Kumar also pointed to the recently announced India-US trade deal, under which US tariffs on Indian exports have been reduced from 50 per cent to 18 per cent. Import duties on Chinese goods remain at 31 per cent, giving Indian manufacturers a competitive edge, he said. 

Addverb plans to build 100 humanoid robots in the first year to test demand with five to six premium domestic customers. Production is expected to rise to 500 units in the second year and 2,000 units in the third. Kumar said this timeline could speed up depending on global demand. The global humanoid robot market currently stands at around 10,000 units, with just 100-200 in India, and is projected to reach 10 billion globally by 2040. 

Kumar acknowledged that China retains a cost advantage. Localisation for Addverb’s humanoid robot is currently at 30-40 per cent, as several key components are imported at high cost. In China, most components — from chips to sensors — are available domestically. 

To address this, Addverb has drawn up a three-year plan to raise localisation levels to 60-70 per cent. The company is also compensating for the lack of a domestic component ecosystem by setting up a vertically integrated manufacturing facility to produce batteries, motors, and other components in-house. 

China also benefits from economies of scale. Around 200 companies manufacture robots there, with about 70 assembling humanoid robots. Leading Chinese players produce nearly three times Addverb’s annual output (around 10,000 robots a year). 

Kumar said Chinese exporters receive government subsidies of 25 per cent. He said that discussions are ongoing with the Indian government, which is exploring incentives for robot manufacturing, potentially through a production-linked incentive-style scheme. 

To expand its portfolio, which already includes mobile robots, six-axis robots for welding and painting, quadruped robots for surveillance, and now humanoid robots, Addverb has set up subsidiaries in the US, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Australia. The company has deployed robots in over 25 countries. 

As a result, Kumar said, 60 per cent of Addverb’s revenue now comes from overseas markets, which are growing at 60 per cent year-on-year. The company expects to hit $100 million in revenue this year. 

Addverb operates two factories in India, one of which it claims is the world’s largest robot manufacturing facility at a single location, with an annual capacity of 100,000 robots.