[Edaily Reporter Park Soon-yeop] While artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks are driving the domestic stock market, robotics stocks are also emerging as a major theme. The robotics sector, which had been taking a breather for some time following the unveiling of Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot “Atlas” earlier this year, appears to be regaining upward momentum ahead of upcoming events related to NVIDIA, Hyundai Motor, and Tesla.
According to MP Doctor on the 3rd, LG Electronics closed at 392,500 won on the 2nd, up 12,000 won (3.15%) from the previous trading day. Its year-to-date gain stands at 327.09%. The stock has also hit the daily price limit three times this year: on the 21st and 29th of last month, and on the 1st of this month.
LG Electronics is expanding its business scope to include home and commercial robots, such as the logistics robot “Cloy Carrybot.” Recently, news that the company is developing its own physical AI model based on NVIDIA’s general-purpose humanoid inference model, “Isaac Groot,” has stimulated investor sentiment.

Hyundai Motor Group stocks also showed strength. #Hyundai Motor has risen 145.87% since the start of the year, and #Hyundai Mobis has also climbed 103.49%. #Kia also joined the upward trend, rising 38.59%. Hyundai Motor and Kia are attracting attention as beneficiaries of the physical AI era, led by Atlas, the humanoid robot developed by their robotics subsidiary, Boston Dynamics. Hyundai Mobis has been grouped as a related stock as expectations for the Atlas-related parts value chain have come to the fore.
Shares of pure-play robotics companies also rose in tandem. #Doosan Robotics, a KOSPI-listed company, has surged 113.72% since the start of the year. On the KOSDAQ market, #RainbowRobotics rose 62.17% and #Robotis rose 55.17%. Among small and mid-cap robotics stocks, #HoorimRobotics has risen 46.85% and #EugeneRobotics has risen 45.14% since the start of the year. This is interpreted as investor interest spreading to collaborative robots, service robots, and autonomous robots.
The securities industry views robot stocks as having moved past the momentum gap that persisted since the beginning of the year and re-entered a phase of significant activity starting in late April. Choi Geon, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, explained, “The robotics sector had been trading sideways due to a lack of momentum following the unveiling of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas at CES 2026 in January.”
He added, “Momentum is building in the domestic robotics sector, starting with the visit to Korea by Madison Huang, Senior Director of Product Marketing for Omniverse and Robotics at NVIDIA, followed by Figure AI’s successful 200-hour uninterrupted autonomous operation and the signing of a large-scale contract, and the news of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to Korea in June.”
Key events in the second half of the year center on NVIDIA, Hyundai Motor, and Tesla. CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to visit South Korea following his attendance at the Taiwanese IT exhibition “Computex 2026.” As he is expected to meet with major South Korean business leaders such as LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver Chairman Lee Hae-jin during this visit, the market is watching closely to see if discussions on physical AI collaboration will materialize.
Hyundai Motor Group is moving forward with its robotics business. Hyundai Motor plans to open the Robot Training and Assessment Center (RMAC) in the third quarter. RMAC is expected to serve as a physical AI testbed for training, verification, data accumulation, and retraining of humanoid robots before they are deployed in actual production processes. Attention is also focused on whether Atlas will perform the ceremonial kick-off at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.
Tesla’s humanoid robot “Optimus” is another key factor that could shape the direction of the global robotics industry. The market is closely watching whether the third-generation Optimus (V3) will be unveiled and mass production will begin between late July and early August. There is also interest in whether the roadmap for the next-generation model V4, mentioned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, will take shape.
The entry of Chinese robotics companies into the stock market could also stimulate investor sentiment. Unitree, a Chinese company developing quadruped and humanoid robots, passed the IPO review for the STAR Market on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the 1st. The market believes that if Unitree’s listing materializes, it could lead to additional listings by Chinese robotics companies and an influx of capital.
However, there are significant concerns regarding the potential for a short-term sharp rise. Some analysts note that for certain stocks, market expectations have already been reflected in share prices even though the robotics business currently contributes little to overall revenue. To secure further upward momentum, it is pointed out that robot stock companies must go beyond simply riding a thematic wave and demonstrate concrete commercialization schedules, mass production feasibility, clear division of roles within their corporate groups, and improvements in profitability.
Researcher Choi stated, “Stock prices will secure upward momentum by assessing the feasibility of sector-related events,” adding, “We must pay close attention to whether the robotics business materializes following these events.”