Connector Giants Aim at The Robot Market

After the first year of intelligent driving of new energy vehicles, the first year of the robot industry is coming, and 2025 may become a historical turning point for the commercialization of humanoid robots.

As generative AI sets off a wave of technological revolution, domestic connector leading companies are aiming at the robot track: Luxshare Precision has invested 5 billion yuan to build a robot headquarters base, Changying Precision has obtained designated projects from many international leading customers, Recorda humanoid robot connectors have entered trial production, and Weifeng Electronics high-speed connectors have been mass-applied to automation scenarios.

Connector companies are extending the precision manufacturing technology accumulated in the consumer electronics and automotive fields to the robot track, and an industry trend around the core connection technology of robots has arrived.

01|Commercial critical point? A 10 billion market for humanoid robots is in sight

Breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence and large language models are driving embodied intelligent humanoid robots to accelerate their commercialization. This type of robot deeply integrates AI decision-making, precision transmission and bionic material technology, and is regarded as the next generation of disruptive products after computers and smartphones.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global humanoid robot market will explode from $1.8 billion in 2023 to $13.8 billion in 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of over 50%. As the core battlefield, China's market size is expected to reach 75 billion yuan in 2029, accounting for 32.7% of the world.

In recent years, connector manufacturers have also been trying to expand from the home appliance or consumer electronics market to the higher-value robotics field. As generative AI promotes the accelerated commercialization of embodied intelligent humanoid robots, the value of a single connector has climbed to 5,000 yuan.

However, the connector industry faces three barriers: the technical end needs to break through the extreme performance of micron-level precision and 100,000 plug-in life; the competitive end is suppressed by giants such as Tyco and Amphenol relying on automotive/aerospace technology; the industry end needs to cross the 5-10 year commercialization window period to balance R&D investment and survival pressure.

At present, the humanoid robot connector market is still in the stage of technical verification and small-batch application, with a market size ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, as Tesla, UBTECH and other companies have set clear production targets of 100,000 to 1 million units between 2025 and 2030, the market size of supporting connectors is expected to exceed the 1 billion US dollar mark during the mass production window period. This prospect has attracted many connector companies such as Luxshare Precision, Changying Precision, Recorda, and Weifeng Electronics to accelerate their layout.

02 | Has the wind come? Leading connector companies bet on the robot track

On the eve of the outbreak of the humanoid robot industry, leading connector companies are accelerating their layout with differentiated paths to leverage the growth dividends of the robot track.

Entering the Suzhou factory of TE Connectivity Industrial Automation and Electrical Division (hereinafter referred to as "TE Suzhou Factory"), the reporter of First Financial News immediately heard the sound of plastic particles shuttling through the guide tube. In the upper part of the factory space, there are crisscrossing silver guide tubes, and all raw materials can reach any point within a few seconds and enter the mold to start forming.

This factory belongs to TE Connectivity (hereinafter referred to as "TE"), and connectors are one of the company's products. In the robot industry, connectors are equivalent to the "nerves" of robots, responsible for the transmission of power and signals, and efficiently connecting various key components such as sensors, actuators, and control units. Although small in size, due to its characteristics throughout the body, it determines the upper limit of the robot's technical capabilities and application scenarios.

In the factory, the reporter saw a mechanical production line of more than ten meters and a highly automated operation assembly line... All this may mean: tens of billions of yuan of investment may be just an entry ticket for upstream robot component manufacturers.

For connector manufacturers, the development and large-scale production of new connectors face the natural contradiction between long-term mold opening and cost control. These core issues directly control the lifeblood of product costs and market competitiveness. How to find a balance between technical performance and large-scale mass production will be the key to success in the future.

Although the "nerves" are small, they determine the upper limit of technology

In the robot system, the connector is the "courier" in the robot's body, which transmits the information collected by various sensing devices to the computing unit. Taking visual connectors as an example, connectors need to transmit image information obtained by sensors such as cameras to the controller so that the robot can perform visual recognition, target positioning and path planning.

A humanoid robot of about 1.3 meters may use about 100-200 connectors. Tu Guojiao, manager of the robot and warehouse automation industry of TE Industrial Automation and Electrical Division, told reporters that connectors are not large core components of robots, so from a cost point of view, they account for about 1%-2% of the entire robot BOM (bill of materials) cost. Different robots will have a certain fluctuation, but their technical status is far higher than what the cost ratio can reflect.

Although the connector is small, it is one of the key factors in defining the upper limit of robot technology. Eddie is an engineer at a humanoid robot company in the Yangtze River Delta. He told reporters that if the transmission speed of the connector is not enough and the reliability is poor, the robot will not be able to operate effectively in real scenes. "Imagine that if the robot recognizes that the user wants to interact and wave at him, if the connector transmits signals slowly, the customer will leave before the signal reaches the brain. What if it is in a high-beat, high-precision industrial scene? The consequences will be even more serious."

The connector is like the capillaries on the robot. It seems inconspicuous, but if any performance such as transmission speed, reliability, and volume is not compatible, it will make the robot fail in the scene like a domino.

The reporter saw connectors of various shapes in the TE factory, including threaded tubes, plates, and wires. The connectors used in industrial robots or humanoid robots are usually relatively small. In the factory, the reporter of First Financial Daily saw that even a connector with a width of less than 1 cm needs to go through multiple links such as injection molding, stamping, electroplating and assembly before it can be formed and put on the line.

A connector that is not even the size of a thumb cap may be assembled on an assembly line as long as 13 meters.

Before reaching the assembly line, the raw materials of the connector will go through steps such as injection molding and electroplating. Connectors usually consist of a plastic shell and a metal part called a "terminal". The plastic particles are dissolved at high temperature and reshaped into a new plastic shell in the mold, while the thin copper sheet becomes a new terminal after being stamped and electroplated with different metals by the machine.

Chen Ming, the operations manager of TE's Suzhou factory, told the reporter of China Business News that a conventional terminal is usually plated with nickel, gold, or tin according to different applications. Chen Ming explained that this is determined by the actual use of the connector. "For example, the top part of the terminal is usually the plug-in interface, which is often repeatedly connected and disconnected with other components. This part can be gold-plated. Because gold is wear-resistant and conductive, it can be used to 'protect' the interface and extend the service life of the connector."

Mass production requires large investment, and "soft and hard" cost control

Compared with industrial robots, the connector design and application requirements of humanoid robots are more complex. Not only does it need to ensure the stability of the action, but it also involves high-speed signal transmission and high computing power processing requirements.

"In the field of humanoid robots, we see that the first demand of customers for connectors is still miniaturization, followed by stability." Tu Guojiao told reporters that TE has been in the field of robots for many years and began to focus on the field of humanoid robots a year ago. In addition to the body manufacturers, TE also pays attention to the industry supply chain. Some key module manufacturers and lead screw manufacturers that were originally TE customers have also entered the field of humanoid robots.

Taking the lower limbs of bipedal humanoid robots as an example, Eddie told the reporter of China Business Network that in order to achieve anthropomorphic gait walking, the legs and feet of humanoid robots need to be installed with more than 30 actuators, drivers and sensors. The connection between these components requires miniaturized connectors to adapt to limited space. Miniaturization and lightweight are the prerequisites for improving energy efficiency and extending walking time.

Stability is a direct indicator directly related to operating efficiency. "If in industrial scenarios, the defective rate of production products is too high due to loose connectors or poor contact, the ROI (return on investment) of the robot will be directly affected." Eddie said that industrial customers have relatively strict requirements for stability and reliability. "After all, if the production line in which the robot is regularly involved is shut down for maintenance, the loss may be in the millions."

In addition to performance requirements, cost control is still a topic that cannot be avoided.

The larger the output, the lower the average cost, which is a simple business logic. For humanoid robots that have not yet been mass-produced, the batch investment is not small. "For the investment in humanoid robot connectors, considering its production cycle, we are still very cautious." Tu Guojiao told the reporter of China Business Network that for mainstream humanoid robot connectors, the company's approach is to first promote standard products with high adaptability, and then do customized research and development and production when it is discovered that various customers have similar needs.

Customized production of connectors requires factories to re-open molds. "Mass production involves many aspects, such as the input-output ratio. For example, the development of product molds and hard molds will involve a lot of costs." Tu Guojiao said that for connectors designed for humanoid robots, except for the mold opening, which requires redesign and investment, other links can be covered by the factory's existing production capacity.

At the TE Suzhou factory, the reporter saw the "hard mold" mentioned by Tu Guojiao. A connector with a width of no more than one centimeter may have its plastic shell cast in a cubic mold with a length, width and height of more than 30 centimeters. This cube forged from stainless steel is called a "hard mold." Chen Ming told reporters that hard molds need to be tested and rectified many times before they can be applied to mass production. It takes at least three months from mold opening to application to mass production.

Because humanoid robots are in the technical iteration period and the frequency of adjustments and modifications is high, Chen Ming revealed to reporters that when customers have a need for rapid "proofing", the company will also use "soft molds". "Soft molds are cast from iron and do not require heat treatment processes. The time from mold opening to application to mass production is about three weeks, so it is more suitable for small-batch, customized production scenarios."

As the leader of the domestic industry, Luxshare Precision has invested 5 billion yuan to start the layout of the entire industrial chain, while Changying Precision, Recorda, Weifeng Electronics and other companies have cut in from the dimensions of technology migration, scene penetration, industrial control genes, etc., and jointly outlined the "robot breakthrough map" of the connector industry.

• Luxshare Precision: Reinvest 5 billion to increase the robot market

Recently, Luxshare Precision announced that it would invest 5 billion yuan to build a robot headquarters base in Changshu, aiming at industrial robot research and development and intelligent equipment manufacturing. This is a heavyweight move towards a new growth pole after its revenue reached 268.795 billion yuan and net profit reached 11.694 billion yuan in 2024.

In terms of production capacity, the robot headquarters base project covers an area of 66 acres. It is expected that the annual output value will exceed 10 billion yuan after reaching full production, and 3,000+ professional talents will be introduced to build a full R&D-production-sales industry chain.

At the technical integration level, it integrates three core technologies, namely AI visual recognition, high-precision sensing, and high-precision transmission, to provide intelligent upgrade solutions for enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta and around the world, and strengthen the technology spillover effect.

In terms of industrial collaborative layout, through in-depth linkage with Changshu's local consumer electronics, acoustic communications and other advantageous industries, it builds a "smart manufacturing + service" full life cycle ecosystem, forming a horizontal and vertical dual-wheel drive pattern of the industrial chain.

According to information compiled by "International Cables and Connections", last year Luxshare Precision's consumer electronics business growth slowed to 13.65%, while its automotive interconnection business surged 48.69% year-on-year, highlighting the urgency of transforming to high value-added fields. It is reported that Luxshare Precision strategically added 12.81 million yuan of investment in Jiangsu Luxshare Robotics, with a total investment of 103 million yuan, sending a clear signal of increasing investment in the robot track.

At present, Luxshare Precision's strategic layout has formed a dual-track pattern of industry and consumption: on the industrial side, it has jointly developed industrial-grade humanoid robots with China Unicom, focusing on scenarios such as equipment inspection and high-risk operation replacement; on the consumer side, it plans to launch home service product lines such as sweeping robots and floor scrubbers in 2025 to enter the trillion-level smart home market.

The annual report also disclosed the layout plan for cutting-edge fields, including the self-developed 1.6T OSFP ACC active copper cable, which has been applied to high-end data centers to meet the high bandwidth requirements of AI training models. This underlying technology accumulation provides important support for its entry into the core components of robots.

• Changying Precision: Strategic positioning and technological breakthroughs in parallel

As a core enterprise in Apple's supply chain, Changying Precision's exploration in the field of robots presents the dual characteristics of strategic determination and short-term pressure.

Its 2024 financial report shows that the revenue of robots and intelligent equipment business is 29.12 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 42.07%, accounting for less than 1% of total revenue, and its subsidiary Shenzhen Changying Robot even recorded a net profit of -230,700 yuan.

However, Changying Precision is still optimistic about the rapid development of robots in industrial and service scenarios. Last year, it obtained designated projects from many domestic and foreign humanoid robot customers.

By continuously increasing the robot track, the dual-arm collaborative robot Marvin released by Guangdong Tianji Intelligent, a subsidiary of Changying Precision, in July 2024, uses MEMS sensor technology to achieve 0.5N force control accuracy, and is expected to complete capacity expansion in the second half of 2025; in March 2025, it reached a strategic cooperation with a new energy testing company to focus on developing end-to-end solutions for embodied intelligence in industrial scenarios.

It is reported that Changying Precision's robot business has accumulated external revenue of more than 1.3 billion yuan since 2017, and humanoid robot parts and components have also begun mass production and delivery. In terms of component research and development, its robot finger sleeve project has entered the stage of material composite technology, and the multi-material combination strength verification of TPU injection molded fiber cloth and ABS small parts is being promoted.

03 | Summary: Ecological reconstruction under the rapid development of the robotics industry

With the leap of artificial intelligence technology, the humanoid robot industry is moving from "technical verification" to "ecological reconstruction". Before 2025, robots will mainly be deployed in small batches in industrial scenarios. After 2030, as costs drop, service robots may enter the consumer market, and humanoid robots have huge room for development.

In the connector segmentation battlefield, the industry has formed a differentiated breakthrough pattern:

Behind the layout of the robot track by the connector leader is not only a strategic choice of a single enterprise, but also a microcosm of the entire industry's leap to high value-added fields.

In the future, companies with technology accumulation and ecological integration capabilities are expected to stand out, and how to balance short-term investment and long-term returns will be a topic that all participants must face. At the crossroads of disruptive technological revolution, the competition in the connector industry has just begun.