Medical rehabilitation demand powers China's exoskeleton robots sales to record year

China’s market for wearable exoskeleton robots reached more than 1.6 billion yuan, approximately $237 million, in 2025 on shipments of around 26,000 units, according to a report published Tuesday, August 4, by research firm IDC, the first time the company has measured the sector. 

The numbers put a figure on what has become another arm of China’s bid to lead in physical AI, the machines that turn algorithms into movement in the real world.

Per IDC’s report, 2025 was the year when the industry hit a new high in its commercial phase, with the growing market now split into three: medical rehabilitation, consumer assistance, and industrial use.

Which market is generating the most revenue in China?

Per the IDC report, medical rehabilitation remains the largest slice by value at about 1.42 billion yuan. However, it accounts for only around 3,200 of the units shipped. Hospital rehab departments, specialist rehab clinics, and recovery centers are the leading buyers in this segment. 

IDC credits an aging population, domestic substitution of imported gear, and the buildout of grassroots rehab services for making it the most commercially mature segment. The companies that lead here are Fourier Intelligence, Chengtian Technology and Milebot.

The story is quite the opposite for consumer-assist devices. This segment brought in close to 110 million yuan but shipped around 19,000 units, which is more than seven in ten of all exoskeletons sold in China last year, according to IDC. 

Reasons for this volume are falling costs, which make them quite affordable, and the rising silver economy, which services adults aged 50 and above. There is also demand from hiking, tourism, and everyday walking, all contributing to the volume of shipped units.

The front-runners in this segment are Chengtian, Kenqing Technology, and Jike.

The market for the industrial models, which are used in warehousing, auto plants, power, and emergency response, generated the least revenue, bringing in 80 million yuan on about 3,800 units.

Rental legs on the Great Wall and Mount Tai

The volume recorded in the consumer sections is easy to monitor on the ground, as they are already actively in use even in public settings such as the Great Wall of China and Mount Tai, among other locations. 

At the Great Wall, tourists can now rent lightweight exoskeletons to ease the climb. That rollout is reportedly part of a growing effort to commercialize mobility aids. 

Deutsche Welle (DW) reported on this development, noting that better batteries, high-performance alloys, and mass manufacturing have dropped prices from tens of thousands of dollars to a few hundred. It cited projections that global exoskeleton revenue will pass $2 billion by 2030.

The rental model is also live at Mount Tai in Shandong, where the Taishan Cultural Tourism Group operated 500 Kenqing units at the site, the largest single deployment of the technology. 

The executives say that usage of these units hit 80% at peak season. Each device weighs 1.8 kilograms and runs about eight hours on a charge. Investors have taken note with 19 financing deals worth 2.2 billion yuan reportedly closed in 2025. This is up from eight deals worth 292 million yuan in 2024.

Why are Chinese wearable exoskeletons gaining significant commercial traction?

While prices play a major role in the rise in demand, it is not the only reason for the recent commercial success of the sector. 

At April’s Canton Fair, a Hangzhou firm opened preorders on a rehab exoskeleton at $1,200 with a final price expected below 10,000 yuan after a video of an Argentine buyer standing with the device drew hundreds of livestream orders on Douyin.

According to analysts, Chinese firms are able to offer these devices at affordable rates because of the country’s industrial base, which feeds the current robotics rush.

A report from the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRO) pointed out a state-backed “industrial commons,” which sees that supply chains, manufacturing capacity, and R&D talent are shared across sectors as instrumental. As a result, gains recorded in electric vehicles and batteries spill into robotics.

The growth is also spreading abroad; an example is leisure-exoskeleton maker Hypershell’s expansion, having sold over 30,000 units globally and launching in South Korea this year.

However, the growth has not been without friction, given the current state of trade between the United States and China. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned imports of Chinese-made humanoid and quadruped robots on national-security grounds. 

While exoskeletons were not named in that action, they ride the same supply chains now under a political spotlight.

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