Everyone wants to talk about humanoid robots running marathons and building BMWs. The executives actually writing the checks are buying something much less exciting.

A new report from the Capgemini Research Institute, based on a survey of 1,678 executives across 16 countries, paints the clearest picture yet of where physical AI is heading. The headline number: two-thirds of organizations now rank physical AI as a high priority for the next three to five years. But the details underneath that headline tell a much more interesting story than the one the robotics hype cycle wants you to hear.

The Numbers

79% of organizations are already engaging with physical AI in some form. 27% are deploying or scaling solutions today. 60% of executives believe physical AI will enable robotics in areas that were previously impossible or impractical. 43% say reshoring and reindustrialization are driving their interest in physical AI as a way to support domestic production at scale.

Those are enormous numbers. Nearly eight in ten of the world's largest companies are already doing something with robots that can think. But here is where it gets interesting.

The Humanoid Reality Check

The fastest-growing robot types are not the humanoids grabbing all the headlines. More than half of business leaders cite autonomous mobile robots, industrial robotic arms, and cobots as the form factors growing fastest in their organizations. Humanoids are a longer-term bet, and the executives know it.

72% of executives identified technical immaturity, including reliability and dexterity, as significant barriers to humanoid adoption. 63% were deterred by the high cost. 58% cited training challenges. More than six in ten executives are currently unclear on the ROI of humanoid adoption. And more than six in ten believe public resistance will be a critical obstacle.

In France, 68% of executives cited public resistance as a barrier. In Spain, 56%. The gap between "this is cool" and "we will actually buy this" is still enormous.

What Is Actually Driving the Spending

It is not cost savings. The top driver of physical AI investment is labor shortages, especially in agriculture, retail, high tech, warehousing, logistics, and automotive. Companies are not replacing workers to save money. They are buying robots because they literally cannot find enough humans.

Japan leads globally, with more than three quarters of executives identifying physical AI as a priority. The US is close behind. Both countries have aging populations and shrinking labor pools. The economics are simple: if you cannot hire a human, you buy a machine.

Nearly half of executives also highlighted flexibility as a key benefit, specifically the ability to reconfigure production systems faster than traditional automation. And more than half cited improved safety and reduced physical strain.

The Scale Gap

Nearly two-thirds of executives expect physical AI to reach scale within five years. But only 4% say they are operating at scale today. Nearly eight in ten say scaling remains a challenge, primarily due to a lack of technology and operating readiness.

That is the real story. The demand is massive. The intent is clear. The money is flowing. But the gap between pilot projects and production deployment is still the size of a canyon.

The Take

We have covered the Beijing robot half-marathon, China's factory-a-month production pace, BMW's Figure deployment, and humanoid robots cleaning apartments in Shenzhen. All of that coverage is about the bleeding edge. The Capgemini data shows what the mainstream looks like, and the mainstream is buying robotic arms and autonomous carts, not humanoids.

The humanoid moment is coming. But right now, the real money is in the boring robots. The ones that do not run marathons, do not make headlines, and do not need a face to do their job.

Pascal Brier, Capgemini's chief innovation officer, said it well: "What is different today is not the hype, but the convergence of AI, data, and engineering maturity." For once, a corporate quote that is actually worth reading.

Source: Capgemini Research Institute, 'Physical AI: Taking human-robot collaboration to the next level,' published April 16, 2026. Survey of 1,678 executives across 16 countries.