Robotics: Will Component Suppliers Be the Real Winners?

While the spotlight is focused on Tesla, Figure AI, Unitree and Agility Robotics, another battle is unfolding far from the spectacular demonstrations of humanoid robots. It is a quieter battle, but probably a more decisive one: the battle for components.

As with every major industrial revolution, the companies assembling the final products may not be the only ones to benefit. The real winners could be the manufacturers of the essential technologies required by every robot, regardless of its manufacturer, design or purpose.

This analysis is also at the heart of a recent Morgan Stanley report, which focuses less on robot brands and more on the companies capable of supplying the critical components that could equip millions of machines over the coming decades.

A Lesson from Industrial History

Economic history shows that technological revolutions often benefit infrastructure suppliers.

During the gold rush, sellers of shovels and pickaxes sometimes generated more wealth than the gold prospectors themselves.

More recently, the artificial intelligence boom has elevated companies such as NVIDIA, TSMC and ASML, which have become indispensable links in the global technology ecosystem.

Robotics could follow a similar path.

Behind every humanoid robot lies a network
of suppliers on which the entire robotics
revolution depends.

Bearings: An Invisible but Essential Component

Among these components, precision bearings occupy a strategic position.

Every joint, electric motor and rotating mechanism in a robot requires a system capable of reducing friction while ensuring precision, durability and a long operational lifespan.

A drone already contains several bearings.

An industrial robot may use several dozen.

An advanced humanoid robot can incorporate more than 70 bearings, distributed across its shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles and even the actuators in its hands.

The more dexterous robots become, the greater their need for high-precision mechanical components.

Components: The Backbone of Robotics

Bearings, however, represent only one part of the equation.

Modern robotics relies on a range of technologies, none of which can be easily replaced:

Precision bearings
Harmonic drives
Electromechanical actuators
Torque motors
Ball screws
Absolute encoders
Force and torque sensors
Industrial cameras
Specialised semiconductors for embedded AI

These components form the technological foundation on which future generations of industrial, medical, logistics and humanoid robots will be built.

Bearings, gearboxes and actuators
are the invisible muscles of modern
robotics.

An Issue of Industrial Sovereignty

For Europe, the issue extends far beyond financial considerations.

Control over critical components will determine part of the competitiveness of its robotics industry.

Excessive dependence on a small number of foreign suppliers could weaken the entire value chain, as demonstrated by recent semiconductor shortages and supply-chain tensions.

Conversely, having European companies capable of producing bearings, gearboxes, sensors and transmission systems represents a genuine strategic advantage.

Robotics sovereignty is not simply about manufacturing robots. It also means controlling the invisible technologies that make them possible.

An Opportunity for European Industry

European groups such as SKF, Schaeffler, THK Europe, Bosch Rexroth and SEW-Eurodrive already possess recognised expertise in high-precision mechanical components.

As the markets for industrial robotics, humanoid robots, autonomous logistics and medical robots continue to accelerate, these manufacturers could benefit from structurally growing demand.

From this perspective, the future leaders of robotics may not be limited to the robot manufacturers showcased at international trade fairs. The companies designing and producing essential components could become the true pillars of this new industrial revolution.

Robotics is often presented through its most spectacular machines. Yet its success will depend above all on a supply chain capable of producing millions of reliable, precise and competitively priced components.

In the future, value may not be concentrated solely in the robots themselves, but also in the technologies that power and animate them. For European manufacturers, the real challenge is therefore to preserve and strengthen this expertise, ensuring that Europe remains a major player in the next robotics revolution rather than becoming merely an assembler of technologies designed elsewhere.