Lister has published a report comparing physical AI companies in Japan, the US and China. It analyzed 669 Japanese companies, 142 US companies and 180 Chinese companies across common categories. The following is an overview of the number and proportion of companies in each category.
Lister has published the “Japan-US-China Physical AI Industry Comparison Report 2026,” comparing physical AI-related companies in Japan, the US and China. The analysis maps 669 Japanese companies, 142 US companies and 180 Chinese companies to common technology categories.
The companies were compared across 6 common categories. The robot and field automation category comprised 318 Japanese companies, or 47.5%; 68 US companies, or 47.9%; and 92 Chinese companies, or 51.1%.
Recognition, sensing and inspection comprised 174 Japanese companies, or 26.0%; 8 US companies, or 5.6%; and 18 Chinese companies, or 10.0%. AI, software and development platforms comprised 33 Japanese companies, or 4.9%; 22 US companies, or 15.5%; and 8 Chinese companies, or 4.4%.
The robotics sector is classified into 3 areas: industrial, collaborative and factory automation; humanoid and general-purpose robotics; and logistics, AMR and material handling. The number of companies in each area differs among Japan, the US and China. The analysis includes suppliers of peripheral technologies, not only manufacturers of complete systems, and does not cover every part of the robotics sector across the 3 areas.