The Robot Startup That Accidentally Became America's China-Free Moment
A Bangalore-built robotics company spent years developing its own hardware to make better robots. When US regulators banned Chinese-made machines, it turned out Ati Robotics had already done the hard work.
Key points
- The US Federal Communications Commission banned new imports of Chinese humanoid robots and advanced devices in 2025, affecting many American robotics firms.
- Ati Robotics, founded in 2017, assembles its machines in Bangalore, India, and says its best-selling tugger robot uses virtually zero Chinese parts.
- Investment in robotics startups reached record highs this year in both the number of deals and total dollars, according to PitchBook, which tracks venture capital funding.
- Ati's 10,000-pound tugger (a heavy-duty cart-pulling machine used inside warehouses and factories) is effectively China-free, while its pallet mover contains fewer than 5 percent Chinese components.
- Ati plans to open an assembly facility in Madison Heights, near Detroit, Michigan, to manufacture robots in the United States.
Saurabh Chandra did not set out to build a geopolitically convenient robot. He just wanted cheaper, more reliable hardware.
That quiet obsession with making his own parts, rather than buying them from Chinese suppliers, has turned his company, Ati Robotics, into what he calls an accidental beneficiary of one of the biggest regulatory shake-ups the robotics industry has ever seen.
What did the US actually ban?
The Federal Communications Commission, the US agency that regulates communications equipment, banned new imports of Chinese-made humanoid robots and other advanced devices, citing national security concerns. A humanoid robot is a machine built to move roughly like a person.
Most smaller American robotics firms write the software that makes robots smart, then buy the physical parts, motors, sensors, gears, from Chinese manufacturers. That supply chain is now a problem.
Who benefits, and who gets hurt?
Larger players with money to rebuild their supply chains will cope. Tesla's Optimus humanoid project and Figure, a US-based robotics startup that already manufactures domestically, are well placed. Dozens of smaller firms that depend on Chinese components face a tougher road.
Ati lands in an unusual spot. Chandra's team, based in Bangalore, built their own motors and mechanical parts from the ground up. The motivation was performance, not politics. But the side effect was a robot that barely touches China.
Ati's 10,000-pound tugger, a machine that hauls raw materials between points on a factory floor, uses a US-made Ouster lidar sensor (a laser-based scanner that helps the robot navigate) and avoids Chinese magnets by running induction motors instead of the more common brushless type. The only Chinese content is the battery cells, and Chandra says South Korean or Japanese alternatives are a straightforward swap.
The pallet mover, a machine that shifts loaded pallets in warehouses, sits at under 5 percent Chinese parts. The company's humanoid, arriving later this year, is a different story: its harmonic drive (a precision gear component) currently comes from China, though equivalent parts are made in Germany, Taiwan, and Japan.
| Robot model | Chinese content | Key non-Chinese choice |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000-lb tugger | Near zero | Ouster US lidar, induction motors |
| Pallet mover | Under 5% | Most parts India/US-sourced |
| Humanoid (2025) | Higher, early stage | Harmonic drives available elsewhere |
Chandra told Wired AI the ban has not yet changed how customers choose his robots. Most buyers care about price and reliability, not supply chains. But several have said origin quietly influenced their thinking.
What happens next for the industry?
Chandra is blunt: most of his competitors are in denial. He watched company representatives lobby Washington to block the restrictions at a conference just months ago. They did not succeed.
Ati is setting up a US assembly facility in Madison Heights, Michigan, to complement its Bangalore operation. It currently has several hundred robots running at customer sites and more than 50 customers.
Chandra's advice to rivals is simple: what Ati built is not magic. It is just the result of choosing the harder path early.
Common questions
Does the ban mean robots will get more expensive?
Quite possibly, yes. Chinese-made components are generally cheaper, and sourcing alternatives from Germany, Japan, South Korea, or the US adds cost. How much depends on the robot and how quickly alternative suppliers scale up.
Are robots already inside US warehouses affected?
The ban covers new imports of Chinese-made models, not machines already deployed. If you work at a warehouse with existing robots, day-to-day operations are not immediately disrupted.
