Soft Robotics Market Report 2026

Soft Robotics Market Overview

• Soft Robotics market size has reached to $2.26 billion in 2025 • Expected to grow to $7.22 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% • Growth Driver: Soft Robotics Market Surges With Government Support And Initiatives • Market Trend: Intelligent Adaptive Gripping Technologies Enhancing Flexibility And Damage-Free Automation Across Industries • Asia-Pacific was the largest region in 2025 and Europe is the fastest growing region.

What Is Covered Under Soft Robotics Market?

Soft robotics refers to a branch of robotics that specializes in designing and producing robots composed of soft, flexible substances and frameworks intended to imitate the natural motions and capabilities of living beings. It is employed in various applications, including surgery, prosthetics, managing pain, and space exploration. The main types of soft robotics are soft grippers, cobots, inflated robots, and exoskeletons. Soft grippers refer to robotic end-effectors that imitate the dexterity and flexibility of human hands by using materials that are flexible and compliant, such as elastomers or soft plastics. The various components include hardware, and software and are used by various end users such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, food and beverages, logistics, and others.

What Is The Soft Robotics Market Growth Forecast?

The soft robotics market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $7.22 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growth in minimally invasive surgeries, rising demand for rehabilitation robotics, expansion of automation in food handling, increased investment in human centric robotics, adoption of soft robotics in space exploration. Major trends in the forecast period include rising adoption of soft grippers in delicate handling, growing use of soft robots in surgical applications, increased development of bio inspired materials, higher focus on human safe robot interaction, expansion of wearable soft exoskeletons.

Tariff Impact On Soft Robotics Market

Tariffs have impacted the soft robotics market by increasing costs of imported smart materials, sensors, actuators, and embedded electronics used in soft robotic systems. Hardware intensive segments such as soft grippers, exoskeletons, and pneumatic robots are most affected, particularly in asia pacific and north america due to globalized component supply chains. Higher system costs have slowed adoption in cost sensitive healthcare and manufacturing applications. At the same time, tariffs are encouraging localized material sourcing, domestic prototyping, and investment in regional soft robotics manufacturing ecosystems.

Global Soft Robotics Market Segmentation

1) By Type: Soft Grippers, Cobots, Inflated Robots, Exoskeleton 2) By Component: Hardware, Software 3) By End User: Healthcare, Advanced Manufacturing, Food And Beverages, Logistics, Other End Users Subsegments: 1) By Soft Grippers: Adaptive Grippers, Suction-Based Grippers 2) By Cobots: Lightweight Cobots, Flexible Cobots 3) By Inflated Robots: Soft Inflatable Structures, Pneumatic Robots 4) By Exoskeletons: Wearable Exoskeletons, Robotic Exoskeletons For Rehabilitation

What Is The Driver Of The Soft Robotics Market?

Government initiatives for supporting robots, including soft robots, are expected to propel the growth of the soft robots market going forward. Government initiatives refer to the support a government entity provides to various organizations, industries, projects, programs, or individuals, whether at the federal, state, or local level. Several government authorities are initiating several initiatives to create innovations in integrating robots. For instance, in July 2024, according to High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a UK-based company, in November 2023, the government unveiled the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, which aims to support the manufacturing sector with £4.5 ($5.86) billion in targeted funding over five years, starting in 2025. This plan focuses on key industries such as automotive. Therefore, government initiatives that support robots, including soft robots, drive the soft robot market.

What Is The Driver Of The Soft Robotics Market?

Government initiatives for supporting robots, including soft robots, are expected to propel the growth of the soft robots market going forward. Government initiatives refer to the support a government entity provides to various organizations, industries, projects, programs, or individuals, whether at the federal, state, or local level. Several government authorities are initiating several initiatives to create innovations in integrating robots. For instance, in July 2024, according to High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a UK-based company, in November 2023, the government unveiled the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, which aims to support the manufacturing sector with £4.5 ($5.86) billion in targeted funding over five years, starting in 2025. This plan focuses on key industries such as automotive. Therefore, government initiatives that support robots, including soft robots, drive the soft robot market.

Global Soft Robotics Market Trends and Insights

Major companies operating in the soft robotics market are focusing on technological advancements, such as soft gripper systems integrating AI-driven vision and adaptive materials, to meet the rising demand for flexible, damage-free automation in sectors like food processing, packaging, electronics assembly, and human–robot collaboration. Soft grippers are end-effectors made from flexible materials (e.g. elastomers or soft silicone), often actuated pneumatically or electrically, that conform to the shape of objects unlike traditional rigid metal grippers which require precise alignment and risk damaging delicate or irregular items. For instance, in March 2023, Soft Robotics Inc., a US-based industrial automation company, launched mGripAI 2.0, a next-generation gripper platform combining soft grippers with 3D machine vision and deep-learning capabilities to handle mixed food items more efficiently. This product leverages compliant, soft-finger technology together with AI-enhanced vision to detect, pick and sort fragile or irregular food products at high speed, improving sortation throughput by about 28%. The soft fingers reduce bruising or damage to delicate items, while the AI-driven vision system enables more flexible automation without manual programming for each product variant a major benefit over rigid grippers optimized for uniform parts. More broadly, this launch underscores a shift in the soft robotics market toward intelligent, adaptive gripping solutions able to meet hygiene, variability and throughput demands across industries.

What Are Latest Mergers And Acquisitions In The Soft Robotics Market?

In August 2024, Schmalz Group, a Germany-based automation technology company, acquired the soft-gripping product assets of Soft Robotics Inc. for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Schmalz aims to expand its gripper and automation portfolio by integrating soft-finger grippers thereby strengthening its position in the growing food-handling and industrial automation markets. Soft Robotics Inc. was a US-based provider of automated high-speed picking solutions, offering soft robotic grippers, 3D machine vision and AI-driven automation technologies.

Regional Outlook

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the soft robotics market in 2025. Europe is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in this market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa The countries covered in this market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

What Defines the Soft Robotics Market?

The soft robotics market consists of sales of robotic muscles, prosthetic robots, and wearable robotics. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is, the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

How is Market Value Defined and Measured?

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified). The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

What Key Data and Analysis Are Included in the Soft Robotics Market Report 2026?

The soft robotics market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides market statistics, including industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with the market share, detailed market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the soft robotics industry. The market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future state of the industry.