The US and China are poised to take the lead from Japan and Germany in the race to become the global robotics leader

Surging investment in artificial intelligence is giving the US an early advantage in the race to dominate a new era of robotics, according to investors and experts in an industry that is set to become one of the most strategically important.

Recent advances in AI, particularly in a technique known as deep learning, have shifted robotics from its core industrial market into areas such as self-driving cars, fuelling debate over the benefits and threats posed by the rise of the robots.

As the technology extends its reach beyond factory production lines, the US and China are poised to take the lead from Japan and Germany, which dominate traditional industrial robotics.

Investment in the sector in the US more than doubled to $587m last year, according to CB Insights, a venture capital research firm. That is helping drive global growth of 17 per cent a year, according to research group IDC, which projects the robot market will almost double from $71bn to $135bn by 2019.

“The most interesting things are in Silicon Valley or the US,” said Dmitry Grishin, a Russian internet entrepreneur and investor who has raised a $100m fund to invest in robot and other hardware start-ups. As low-cost robots move into more consumer and business uses, such as drones, China’s hardware manufacturing expertise will also make it a more significant player, he added.

David Fuller's view

Here is a PDF of the FT article.

Although large industrial robotics for vehicle assemblies were developed decades ago and continue to be refined, we are now witnessing an explosion in other forms of robots, which are limited only by human imagination. 

It is hard to think of a more fascinating sector but profitability is another matter.  For instance, Boston Dynamics was sold by Google, primarily because it spent too much time and money creating humanoid robotics of limited use, at least so far.  

Among the key areas for profitability are products with helpful software and practical uses for middleclass consumers. 

(See also: Google Puts Boston Dynamics Up for Sale in Robotics Retreat and Robotics maker Fanuc likely to prosper)