Soft robotics market seen jumping to $13.97 billion by 2035

The global soft robotics market is projected to climb from $1.88 billion in 2026 to $13.97 billion by 2035, fueled by labor shortages, safer human-robot collaboration needs, and rising venture funding. Food handling, healthcare, logistics, and wearable rehabilitation are emerging as the biggest demand drivers.

Why it matters: - Soft robotics is moving from niche applications into broader industrial, medical and logistics use cases. - The market’s projected rise from $1.88 billion in 2026 to $13.97 billion by 2035 signals strong demand for safer automation that can handle delicate goods and work around people. - Growth is also being driven by labor shortages, especially in food processing and logistics, and by regulatory pressure for safer human-robot collaboration.

What happened: - The global soft robotics market was estimated at $1.50 billion in 2025. - The market is projected to grow at a 25.0% CAGR from 2026 through 2035. - The forecast frames two main catalysts: workforce gaps and funding support for robotics research. - The U.S. had a 23% vacancy rate in food processing plant roles in 2024. - More than $1.2 billion in combined U.S. National Robotics Initiative and EU Horizon Europe funding is committed through 2028. - Soft robotics companies attracted more than $480 million in venture capital in 2024, up 62% year over year. - Get the sample report from Market Research Future.

The details: - Legacy rigid-link industrial robots can damage an estimated 5% to 8% of delicate goods during handling. - Pneumatic soft actuators built on food-grade silicone remain the dominant technology. - Electroactive polymer systems are the fastest-growing segment, helped by demand for wearable rehabilitation devices. - Soft grippers are seeing strong demand in e-commerce fulfillment, food and beverage processing and healthcare. - Government robotics roadmaps in China, Japan and the European Union are helping push commercialization beyond laboratory prototypes. - The report lists soft robotics use cases across medical and healthcare, food and beverages, logistics, entertainment and gaming, automotive, survey and exploration, manufacturing, healthcare providers, research institutions, and government and defense. - Key player examples include Soft Robotics Inc., Festo, RightHand Robotics, Ekso Bionics, Empire Robotics, Myomo, Bioservo Technologies, qbrobotics, Robotiq and Universal Robots.

Between the lines: - The market is shifting from simple hardware adoption to competition based on durability, control systems and certification. - Deep reinforcement learning and real-time tactile sensing are making soft robots more adaptive and less dependent on pre-programmed tasks. - Materials advances such as self-healing elastomers, programmable shape-memory materials and multi-material 3D-printed actuators could improve service life and lower total cost of ownership. - Open-source frameworks in ROS and ROS 2 are reducing integration costs and making deployment easier. - Sustainability rules, including Scope 3 reporting under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, are nudging industrial buyers toward lighter and more energy-efficient systems.

What's next: - Soft robotics adoption is likely to keep rising in food handling, surgical robotics, warehouse automation and wearable rehabilitation. - North America remains the largest regional market, while Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region. - Subscription-style Soft Robotics as a Service models already account for an estimated 12% of new installations in North America and could expand further. - Pilot programs and public funding in agriculture, elder care and manufacturing should continue to widen the market beyond early adopters.

The bottom line: - Soft robotics is transitioning from a specialized category into a core automation platform for fragile, variable and human-facing tasks.