Orbbec CEO Howard Huang Targets 3D Vision Sensors for Humanoid Robots

About 500 humanoid robots from 16 countries took part in the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing in August 2025. The three-day event featured 26 competitions including athletics, soccer, dance and martial arts. Chinese state-backed research institute X-Humanoid won 10 medals including two gold, with its Tien Kung Ultra taking first in the 100-meter dash and its Tian Yi winning the materials-handling contest.

The robots' performance relied on 3D vision sensors supplied by Orbbec. The sensors enable machines to perceive depth, navigate complex environments and interact with objects. Orbbec, founded by Huang in 2013, initially produced vision sensors for 3D scanning and biometrics before expanding into robotics applications.

Orbbec makes cameras that capture both color and depth information for close-to-mid range tasks such as facial scanning and object identification. It also produces lidar sensors for longer-range navigation. These components are used in industrial robots, autonomous mobile robots, robotic arms, self-driving cars, drones and AI-powered humanoids.

The company is listed in Shanghai and derives 90% of its revenue from the domestic market. The remaining revenue comes from customers in South Korea, Singapore, Japan and the U.S. Orbbec reported cumulative output of more than 5 million sensors as of December 2024.

In the first nine months of 2025, Orbbec recorded net profit of 69 million yuan ($9.8 million), reversing a net loss of 102 million yuan a year earlier. Revenue more than doubled to 714 million yuan during the period. For the first six months of 2025, almost two-thirds of sales came from biometrics and consumer scanners while sensors for robotics accounted for one-third.

The company's shares more than doubled over the 12 months through mid-January 2026. Huang, who holds a 27% stake, became a billionaire for the first time last year and had a net worth of $1.6 billion as of mid-January.

The global robotics market is projected to grow at a 14% compound annual growth rate from $53 billion in 2024 to $179 billion by 2033, according to a June 2025 report from Research and Markets. China is the world's largest robotics market, supported by government policies that are also expanding demand for components including 3D vision sensors, a June 2025 Morgan Stanley report stated.

Orbbec supplies sensors to Ant Group's Alipay platform for facial recognition in contactless payments. Ant owns 9% of Orbbec through its venture capital arm. In robotics, the company provides components to service robot makers including China's Pudu Robotics and Gausium, South Korea's Robocare, and AMR producers Standard Robots and Twinny.

Orbbec holds 70% of the market for 3D vision sensors used in mobile service robotics in China and South Korea based on units sold. Huang said the company is now concentrating on humanoids, which Morgan Stanley estimated could represent a $7.5 trillion global market by 2050.

Orbbec's humanoid customers include X-Humanoid, AgiBot, Ant-backed Stardust Intelligence, Ant's Robbyant unit and UBTech Robotics. UBTech said in November 2025 that it would begin mass production of humanoids for industrial use. Huang stated that Orbbec's market share for 3D vision sensors in Chinese humanoids is likely higher than its share in service bots.

"Almost all humanoid robot companies you can name in China have either already installed our vision sensors, or at the very least, have received samples for testing," Huang said. He expects sales of vision sensors for robotics to double annually over the next three to five years and become the company's largest revenue source.

This growth is forecast to drive a five- to tenfold increase in total revenue by 2030. Orbbec faces competition from California-based RealSense, which separated from Intel in July 2025. RealSense says its depth cameras are used in 60% of the world's autonomous mobile robots and 80% of humanoids.

Orbbec declined to comment on those market share figures.