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Soft Robotics Market Size Forecast: How Big Could The Market Get By 2030?
The soft robotics market has experienced substantial growth in recent years. It is projected to expand from $2.26 billion in 2025 to $2.82 billion in 2026, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.1%. Historically, this growth can be attributed to advancements in material science, early medical robotics adoption, increased collaborative robotics research, a rising need for delicate object handling, and the expansion of academic robotics programs.
The soft robotics market is anticipated to experience substantial growth in the upcoming years, with projections indicating it will reach $7.22 billion by 2030, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5%. This expansion during the forecast period is primarily fueled by the increase in minimally invasive surgeries, a rising demand for rehabilitation robotics, the broader application of automation in food handling, greater investment in human centric robotics, and the integration of soft robotics in space exploration. Prominent trends expected over this period encompass the increasing adoption of soft grippers for delicate handling tasks, the expanding utilization of soft robots in surgical procedures, enhanced development of bio inspired materials, a stronger focus on human safe robot interaction, and the wider deployment of wearable soft exoskeletons.
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Soft Robotics Market Development Factors: What’s Supporting Demand?
The soft robots market is anticipated to experience growth, propelled by government initiatives designed to support robots, including soft robots. These initiatives represent the assistance a government entity, whether federal, state, or local, offers to various organizations, industries, projects, programs, or individuals. Several government authorities are launching numerous initiatives to promote innovations in integrating robots. For instance, in July 2024, as per High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a UK-based company, the government unveiled the Advanced Manufacturing Plan in November 2023. This plan aims to provide £4.5 ($5.86) billion in targeted funding to the manufacturing sector over five years, beginning in 2025, with a focus on key industries such as automotive. Therefore, government initiatives that endorse robots, particularly soft robots, are driving the soft robot market.
Soft Robotics Market Segment Performance And Emerging Opportunities
The soft robotics market covered in this report is segmented –
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
Soft Robotics Market Trends Powering Strategic Industry Growth
Leading firms within the soft robotics market are prioritizing technological innovations, such as soft gripper systems that incorporate AI-powered vision and adaptable materials. This push aims to fulfill the increasing need for versatile, non-damaging automation across industries like food processing, packaging, electronics assembly, and human–robot collaboration. Soft grippers are end-effectors crafted from pliable substances, like elastomers or soft silicone, often activated pneumatically or electrically, and designed to conform to item shapes, contrasting with conventional rigid metal grippers that demand precise alignment and risk harming delicate or irregularly shaped items. As an illustration, in March 2023, Soft Robotics Inc., an industrial automation company based in the US, introduced mGripAI 2.0. This advanced gripper platform integrates soft grippers with 3D machine vision and deep-learning functionalities to enhance the efficient handling of diverse food products. The system utilizes compliant, soft-finger technology alongside AI-driven vision to identify, pick, and sort fragile or inconsistently shaped food items rapidly, boosting sortation throughput by approximately 28%. The soft fingers minimize bruising or damage to sensitive goods, while the AI-powered vision system facilitates more adaptable automation without requiring manual programming for each product variant, a significant advantage over rigid grippers optimized for uniform components. More generally, this launch highlights a market transition in the soft robotics market towards intelligent, adaptive gripping solutions capable of addressing hygiene, variability, and throughput requirements across various sectors.
Soft Robotics Market Key Players: Which Companies Lead Industry Competition?
Major companies operating in the soft robotics market are Festo Group, Ottobock SE & Co KGaA, SRI International Inc., SoftWear Automation Inc., Disney Research, Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc., Innophys Co. Ltd., Shadow Robot Company Limited, ReWalk Robotics Inc., Artimus Robotics Inc., Octopus Robotics Incorporated, Schunk GmbH, Roam Robotics Inc., RightHand Robotics Inc., Soft Robotics Inc., Tactile Robotics Ltd., Bristol Robotics Laboratory Limited, New Scale Robotics Inc., Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., Fanuc Corporation, Yaskawa Electric Corporation
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Soft Robotics Market Largest Region: Which Geography Holds The Biggest Share?
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 the soft robotics market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa
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Wasay has over a decade of experience in market research, data modelling, and analytics, with prior experience at GlobalData and Decision Tree Consulting Services. At The Business Research Company , he leads research operations across syndicated studies, customized consulting engagements, and the Global Market Model platform. His professional experience includes supporting organizations such as Boston Consulting Group, KPMG, and Ernst & Young. Wasay holds a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering, postgraduate management qualifications from International Management Institute Belgium and Indian School of Business and Entrepreneurship, and completed the Integrated Program in Business Analytics from Indian Institute of Management Indore.
