Toyota plans to deploy 400,000 robots as part of an annual $6.4 billion investment in humanoid systems and factory automation, according to reporting summarized by The Decoder. The automaker wants robotics to become a larger business rather than only a tool for making vehicles.
Its own factories are the first target. A controlled production floor offers repeatable tasks, mapped spaces and existing safety processes, making it more practical than sending a general-purpose humanoid into homes or unpredictable public settings. Toyota has not disclosed how many of the planned machines will be humanoids, what tasks they will perform or when the full deployment will be complete.
The company also has a separate market vehicle in Walden Robotics, an AI robotics spinout that went public in July with a reported $1.1 billion valuation and $300 million in funding. Goldman Sachs analysts estimate Toyota could capture between 3 and 8 percent of the humanoid robot market by 2035, but that is a forecast rather than an order book.
Competition includes Tesla, Xpeng and Hyundai, which plans to begin producing its Atlas robot in the United States in 2028. Toyota brings manufacturing experience and factories in which to test systems, while investors point to delayed expectations around its hydrogen vehicles and solid-state batteries. The announced spending establishes ambition; useful deployment rates, reliability and labor impact will determine the result.