Recently, I've been watching the US stock market, and robotics concept stocks have suddenly become hot. This wave of enthusiasm is closely tied to intensive moves from the White House.

It's quite interesting—this administration is getting more and more skilled at using industrial policy. Just last November, they launched that high-profile AI "Genesis Plan," and now they're already thinking about how to boost the robotics industry. Commerce Secretary Raimondo has been meeting with industry leaders frequently, and it's said the White House is preparing an executive order specifically for robotics technology. The Department of Transportation also plans to set up a robotics task force by the end of the year. Clearly, they're treating robotics technology as a national-level strategy.

**Why now?**

There are several reasons behind this. First, the ultimate form of online AI is the intelligent agent, but what about offline? The carrier is robotics. For AI to truly change the physical world, robotics is essential.

Second, there's the economic calculation. Using machines to replace human labor is an inevitable trend in productivity development. From both efficiency and long-term cost perspectives, automation is a path enterprises will have to take sooner or later.

Then there's the defense angle. Unmanned ground vehicles, drone swarms, autonomous underwater vehicles—these things directly affect the evolution of future warfare.

But the most critical driving force is still the tech rivalry between the US and China. Let's be blunt: Right now, China is the global leader in the robotics industry. According to the International Federation of Robotics, in 2023 Chinese factories installed 1.8 million industrial robots, accounting for more than half the global total and four times that of the US.

This gap is making Washington uneasy. They're not just worried about hardware and key components relying on Chinese supply chains (like in the drone and EV markets), but even more about falling behind at the strategic level. The problem is, six or seven out of ten links in the global robotics supply chain are in China, so achieving so-called "strategic independence" is honestly a big challenge. But even so, they have no choice but to push forward.

**What does the US robotics ecosystem look like?**

With policy support, the shape of the US robotics industry is getting clearer, and the technology is penetrating every corner of the economy:

**Brain and Nervous System**: Palantir and UiPath act as the traffic control centers for the entire robotics network, while chip giants like NVIDIA, Broadcom, and Qualcomm provide the "engines" for perception and action.

**Aerial Forces**: Drone companies like AeroVironment and Skydio are building fleets of aerial robots, supporting autonomous defense systems for defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, and General Dynamics.

**Industrial Powerhouses**: Tesla, Honeywell, and Teradyne are key players in industrial robotics, aiming to fully automate assembly lines and heavy manufacturing.

**Data and Cloud**: Google, Amazon, and Microsoft provide the AI data layer and cloud services to connect all machines. Rockwell Automation and Zebra Technologies handle controllers, scanners, and mobile robots in factory lines and warehouses.

**Perception Capabilities**: Companies like Mobileye, Lidar Tech, Luminar, and InvenSense provide the "vision systems" for robots, enabling them to recognize environments and navigate autonomously.

**Medical Applications**: Intuitive Surgical, Procept Robotics, Stryker, and Medtronic represent the surgical robotics track, reshaping how modern operating rooms work.

**Special Scenarios**: Ritchech Robotics, Oil States Industries, and FARO bring robots into fields like underwater exploration, field operations, and customer service.

**Logistics Revolution**: Amazon has already deployed hundreds of thousands of robots in warehouses to transport and sort goods. Symbotic and Serve Robotics focus on automating order fulfillment and last-mile delivery.

**How to view this from an investment perspective?**

If we're talking about the most certain target, it's probably still Tesla. Musk is pushing hard on the development and mass production of the Optimus humanoid robot, and every iteration of its technology and production capacity is the focus of the whole sector.

Besides that, companies like Skydio in the drone space and Ritchech Robotics in service robots are also worth watching.

This wave of policy-driven tech is just getting started. With such a long industrial chain and so many niche sectors, there are definitely plenty of opportunities. What do you think—within the US robotics sector, which companies or niches have more potential? Let's discuss!