Ati Robotics Built Nearly China-Free Robots by Accident
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- FCC banned new models of Chinese-made humanoids and other advanced devices from US import over national security concerns, a move founder Saurabh Chandra says will impact "most" US robotics companies reliant on Chinese suppliers
- Ati Robotics, founded in 2017 with R&D in Bangalore, operates several hundred robots across warehouses and factories and counts more than 50 customers, with its first humanoid launching later this year
- Ati's 10,000-pound tugger is essentially China-free aside from battery cells, while its pallet mover has fewer than 5% Chinese parts, using US-made Ouster lidar and induction motors instead of Chinese brushless motors with magnets
- Chandra leveraged Bangalore's electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler supply chain to source automotive-grade components, engineering them for robotics use at lower cost than purpose-built parts
- Ati is building a Madison Heights, Michigan facility near Detroit for future assembly, while its new humanoid still sources harmonic drives and frameless motors from China — though alternatives exist in Germany, Taiwan, and Japan
- Chandra says the robotics industry is "in denial" about the ban and calls Tesla's Optimus and Figure — which manufactures in the US — clear beneficiaries alongside his own company
Why it matters: The FCC ban exposes how most US robotics startups designed hardware domestically but sourced critical components from China, putting their growth at risk overnight. Ati's accidental readiness — built on Indian automotive supply chains for reliability and cost, not geopolitics — now gives it a pricing edge over competitors scrambling for non-Chinese alternatives like harmonic drives and solid-state lidar.
