Soft Robotics Market

On 8 October 2025 SoftBank Group agreed to buy ABB’s robotics business for USD 5.38 billion, according to its announcement, calling physical AI its next frontier and naming a closing in mid-to-late 2026. Robots that learn to handle the physical world need hands that can touch fruit, parcels and people without harm, and that is the job of soft robotics. Douglas Insights values soft robotics at USD 1.81 billion in 2025, about USD 1.8 billion, and forecasts USD 9.99 billion by 2035, a compound growth rate of 18.62% a year. The receipt is 1.38 million soft robotic units shipped in 2025, counting grippers, exosuits, gloves, surgical devices, actuator modules and robot hands, at an average USD 1,312 per unit. Units grow 22.8% a year as food, logistics and rehabilitation buyers adopt compliant hardware, and the average price falls 3.4% a year as moulded silicone parts scale. The study sits within Douglas Insights coverage of industrial automation and robotics and follows the published Douglas Insights research methodology.

What does soft robotics include, and what is left out?

Soft robotics in this study is the revenue from robots and robot parts built from flexible, compliant materials such as silicone, elastomers and textiles, worth USD 1.81 billion in 2025. Seven product segments make up the soft robotics total: soft grippers and end effectors, soft exosuits and assistive wearables, rehabilitation gloves and hand devices, soft surgical and endoscopic devices, soft actuators and artificial muscles, soft robotic hands for humanoids, and inspection and exploration soft robots.

The soft robotics study tracks five end-use industries: food and beverage, logistics and e-commerce, healthcare, automotive and electronics, and agriculture. It splits revenue by actuation into pneumatic, cable and tendon driven, hydraulic, and smart material actuation. Rigid grippers fitted with rubber pads, rigid exoskeletons, surgical robots with rigid arms and university research grants are excluded. Rigid wearable devices sit in the Industrial Wearable Exoskeletons Market report and hospital robots in the Healthcare Robotics Market report.

What did SoftBank’s ABB Robotics deal signal for soft robotics?

The USD 5.38 billion ABB Robotics deal put a price on physical AI, and Douglas Insights estimates it touches about 23% of 2025 soft robotics revenue, the share sold as grippers and hands for robots that use AI vision to pick mixed items. SoftBank already holds stakes in Berkshire Grey, AutoStore, Agile Robots and Skild AI, and it said the ABB business, with about 7,000 employees, will be combined with them to speed AI robotics. Robots that pick unsorted parcels or unpacked food need grippers that tolerate position errors of several millimetres, which soft fingers and suction cups do and rigid jaws do not.

Douglas Insights threads the October 2025 deal through this report. It lifts soft robotics unit growth in logistics and humanoid hands in the drivers, it pushes large robot makers to buy or partner with soft gripper specialists among the companies, and it separates the faster scenario from the slower one, which assumes the physical AI spending wave fades after 2028.

What drives soft robotics shipments?

Four drivers lift soft robotics units by 22.8% a year, and the spread of robots into food and logistics is the first. The International Federation of Robotics counted 542,000 industrial robots installed in 2024, more than double the 2014 figure, and expects installations to pass 700,000 a year by 2028, according to its World Robotics 2025 release. Douglas Insights estimates about 7% of new robots in food, packaging and logistics carried a soft gripper in 2025, rising to about 19% by 2035 as robots move from boxes to loose produce, bakery items and polybags. Labour shortages in meat, poultry and bakery plants, where line jobs stay hard to fill, push processors to automate the picking steps that rigid tools could never handle, and each of those cells needs a soft robotics gripper.

Physical AI and humanoids are the second driver. Humanoid and mobile manipulator makers need five-finger hands that can grip a cup or a cable without crushing it, and compliant fingers with tactile skins lower the accuracy the AI controller must reach. Douglas Insights estimates about 21,000 soft robotic hands shipped in 2025, mostly to humanoid pilots in China and the United States, and that soft robotic hands for humanoids grow 33.5% a year to 2035, the fastest soft robotics segment.

Rehabilitation demand is the third driver. Stroke affects more than 12 million people a year worldwide, and about 80% of stroke patients develop walking problems, according to Lifeward, which launched its FDA-cleared ReStore soft exo-suit at USD 28,900 for clinics. Soft suits and gloves are lighter, cheaper and quicker to fit than rigid exoskeletons, and Douglas Insights estimates rehabilitation soft robotics units grow 21% a year as clinics and home programmes adopt them.

Lower component prices are the fourth driver. Moulded silicone fingers, 3D-printed elastomer parts and low-cost pressure sensors have cut the price of a basic soft gripper by about a third since 2020. Douglas Insights estimates the average soft robotics unit price falls 3.4% a year to 2035, which opens the market to small food processors and farms that could not justify a USD 8,000 gripper. Cheaper parts also let makers sell finger sets as consumables, turning a one-off soft robotics sale into repeat revenue.

What holds back soft robotics outside the lab?

Three restraints trim about 4.2 points a year from soft robotics growth, and durability is the first. Silicone fingers cut, wear and tear after 1 million to 5 million cycles in abrasive or sharp-edged work, against tens of millions for rigid metal jaws. Douglas Insights removes about 1.6 points a year from soft robotics unit growth for buyers who choose rigid or vacuum tools on lifetime grounds.

Payload and precision are the second restraint. Most soft grippers lift under 10 kilograms and place items with less accuracy than rigid tools, which limits them in machine tending and assembly. Douglas Insights holds soft robotics growth in automotive and electronics at 11% a year, far below food and logistics, for this reason. Hybrid grippers that pair soft fingertips with rigid frames narrow the gap, but Douglas Insights counts them as soft robotics only where the gripping surface itself deforms to the part.

Reimbursement and certification are the third restraint. Rehabilitation gloves and suits need clinical evidence before insurers pay, and every robot tool sold in Europe must meet new machinery safety rules from January 2027. Douglas Insights removes about 1.1 points a year from medical soft robotics growth for slow reimbursement and certification.

Which soft robotics product carries the value?

Soft grippers and end effectors carry the most soft robotics value at 41.8% of 2025 revenue, USD 757 million, while soft robotic hands for humanoids grow fastest at 33.5% a year.

Soft grippers and end effectors are worth USD 757 million in 2025. Food, packaging and logistics robots use them to pick items of varied shape, and hygienic designs made from food-grade silicone can be washed down on the line.

Soft exosuits and assistive wearables are worth USD 315 million in 2025. Cable-driven suits help stroke patients walk and warehouse workers lift, with a lighter frame than rigid exoskeletons.

Rehabilitation gloves and hand devices are worth USD 228 million in 2025. Pneumatic and tendon-driven gloves restore grip after stroke or spinal injury, and home versions let therapy continue after discharge.

Soft surgical and endoscopic devices are worth USD 168 million in 2025. Flexible, steerable instruments and soft retractors reduce tissue damage, but each device needs its own clearance, which slows launches.

Soft actuators and artificial muscles are worth USD 161 million in 2025. Robot and device makers buy these components to build their own soft systems, and electroactive polymer and electrohydraulic actuators move from labs into products.

Soft robotic hands for humanoids are worth USD 103 million in 2025 and grow fastest at 33.5% a year to USD 1.86 billion, because humanoid makers need safe, dexterous hands that forgive errors in AI control.

Inspection and exploration soft robots are worth USD 77.9 million in 2025. Pipe crawlers, inflatable robots and underwater grippers work in spaces rigid robots cannot enter, but orders are small and project based.

How do end-use industry and actuation split soft robotics revenue?

By end-use industry, Douglas Insights estimates healthcare takes 39% of 2025 soft robotics revenue, food and beverage 24%, logistics and e-commerce 19%, automotive and electronics 11% and agriculture 7%. By actuation, pneumatic systems take about 58%, cable and tendon driven systems 27%, hydraulic systems 6% and smart material actuation, such as shape memory alloys and electroactive polymers, 9%.

Which region buys the most soft robotics hardware?

Asia Pacific buys the most soft robotics hardware at 34.6% of 2025 revenue, USD 627 million, and grows fastest at 20.9% a year to USD 4.18 billion by 2035. China installed 295,000 industrial robots in 2024, 54% of the world total, and Chinese humanoid makers are the largest buyers of soft robotic hands, while Japan and Korea lead in rehabilitation devices for ageing populations.

North America spends USD 612 million on soft robotics in 2025 and grows 17.7% a year to USD 3.12 billion, led by e-commerce picking, US humanoid developers and clinics using soft exosuits. Europe spends USD 491 million and grows 16.8% a year to USD 2.32 billion; German gripper makers and food processors in the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain lead, and the Machinery Regulation adds certification work from 2027. Latin America spends USD 41.6 million and grows 18.2% a year, led by meat and fruit packers in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. The Middle East and Africa is the wildcard at USD 39.8 million in 2025 and 13.98% a year: Gulf logistics hubs automate quickly, while the rest of the region buys little soft robotics hardware.

Which companies build soft grippers, exosuits and hands in soft robotics?

Douglas Insights estimates Festo holds about 11.2% of 2025 soft robotics revenue, and the top five companies hold about 37%, so the field is fragmented.

Advantage in soft robotics rests on materials know-how, food and medical certifications, and ties to robot makers. Festo leads through its pneumatics base and global sales network. Schmalz added the mGrip line, with loads up to 10 kilograms and 120 picks a minute, according to its August 2024 announcement. Lifeward and Bioservo lead in medical and grip-assist wearables. After the SoftBank deal, Douglas Insights expects large robot makers to buy soft gripper and hand specialists rather than build them.

What price does soft robotics hardware fetch, from a gripper to a humanoid hand?

An average soft robotics unit sold for USD 1,312 in 2025, and Douglas Insights expects about USD 928 by 2035. A soft gripper for a collaborative robot sells for USD 2,000 to USD 8,000 depending on finger count and hygiene rating, and a replacement finger set for USD 150 to USD 600. A clinic soft exo-suit launched at USD 28,900, while home rehabilitation gloves sell for USD 1,500 to USD 5,000. A dexterous soft hand for a humanoid sells for USD 3,000 to USD 15,000, and actuator modules for USD 50 to USD 400. The average soft robotics price falls 3.4% a year because low-priced actuator modules and gripper fingers grow faster than clinic suits, and because Chinese makers now sell basic soft grippers at half the price of European models.

Can soft robotics grippers last through a food factory shift?

Soft grippers survive a food factory shift when fingers are changed every 1 million to 3 million picks, which Douglas Insights puts at USD 0.10 to USD 0.40 per 1,000 picks in replacement parts. Meat, fish and bakery lines run two or three shifts, so a gripper picking 60 items a minute reaches 1 million picks in about three months. Buyers now judge soft robotics on cost per pick rather than purchase price, and makers sell finger sets as consumables, which Douglas Insights estimates adds 12% to 18% to lifetime gripper revenue.

How large could soft robotics grow by 2035 if humanoids scale?

The base scenario takes soft robotics to USD 9.99 billion by 2035, inside a range of USD 4.33 billion to USD 19.3 billion. The base case combines 22.8% unit growth with a 3.4% annual fall in average price, for 18.62% a year. The slower scenario assumes humanoid programmes stall after 2028 and physical AI spending fades, setting the legs at 15.1% and minus 5.2% for 9.11% a year and USD 4.33 billion. The faster scenario assumes humanoids reach factory and warehouse fleets and the ABB Robotics deal is followed by more, setting the legs at 29.4% and minus 2.1% for 26.68% a year and USD 19.3 billion. Each 1-point change in unit growth moves the 2035 soft robotics figure by about USD 844 million. Published forecasts range from about 22% to 35% a year; the Douglas Insights figure sits below that range because it excludes rigid grippers with soft pads and research funding and applies a falling unit price.

Which machinery, medical device and food contact rules apply to soft robotics?

Three sets of rules apply to soft robotics, and the EU Machinery Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, applies to every robot and gripper placed on the European market from 20 January 2027. It adds duties on safety functions that learn or change behaviour and on protection against corruption of control software. Medical soft robotics devices need FDA clearance in the United States, where powered exoskeletons are Class II devices, and certification under the EU Medical Device Regulation in Europe. Grippers that touch food must use materials that meet FDA food contact rules and EU Regulation 1935/2004. Robot cells that work next to people also follow the ISO 10218 robot safety standards, and Douglas Insights estimates compliance work adds 3% to 6% to the price of a soft robotics gripper sold into Europe after January 2027.

Douglas Exclusive: the soft robotics gripper-to-SKU matrix

The gripper-to-SKU matrix maps 320 food, parcel and component item types against 14 soft robotics gripper designs and records pick success, speed and finger life for each pairing, and it shows soft fingers beat vacuum on 41% of unpacked food items. Buyers use the matrix to choose a gripper before a trial and to estimate cost per pick. It also shows where rigid or vacuum tools still win, mainly on flat cartons and heavy parts above 10 kilograms. The matrix is refreshed each quarter as new soft robotics gripper designs reach the market, including the hands now sold to humanoid makers.

Methodology and receipts: how do 1.38 million soft robotic units add up to USD 1.81 billion?

The soft robotics model is built from units shipped and average price. The headline receipt is 1.38 million soft robotic units multiplied by an average USD 1,312, giving USD 1.81 billion for 2025. Units come from shipment estimates for grippers, suits, gloves, surgical devices, actuator modules, hands and inspection robots in 22 countries, reconciled with robot installation counts from the International Federation of Robotics and company disclosures. Average prices come from price lists, clinic purchase records and tender awards, weighted by segment and region. The forecast compounds 22.8% unit growth and a 3.4% annual price fall from the 2025 base to about 10.8 million units at USD 928 each and USD 9.99 billion in 2035.

Sources

1. SoftBank Group Corp. Acquisition of ABB Ltd's Robotics Business (2025)
2. International Federation of Robotics World Robotics 2025: global robot demand in factories doubles over 10 years (2025)
3. EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery (2023)
4. Lifeward Ltd. (investor release) FDA issues clearance for the ReStore Exo-Suit, the first soft robotic system for stroke therapy (2019)
5. J. Schmalz GmbH (company release) Schmalz takes over finger gripper product family from Soft Robotics Inc. (2024)