Start Here: Supply Chain Research Hub

Organized topics, series & archive. Updated regularly with new series on the real bottlenecks in humanoid robotics.

New here? Start with The Actuator Cartel

It’s the most-read piece on the site because it explains the single biggest hardware constraint in humanoid robotics and who actually controls it. Once you understand this, everything else (motors, magnets, costs, and timelines) makes much more sense.

Machine Narratives maps the supply chain that makes humanoid robots possible. Not the software, not the demos, not the pitch decks. The physical stack: the motors, the batteries, the magnets, the sensors, the materials. The parts that actually constrain when these machines walk into factories, warehouses, and homes.

Every article follows a specific chokepoint, traces who controls it, and works out what it means for the companies trying to build at scale.

New research is published weekly. Subscribe to stay ahead of the supply chain shifts that will determine which humanoid companies succeed and which ones struggle.

Note: All Part 1 articles and standalone analysis pieces are available in full for free. Paid subscribers get access to deeper parts of ongoing series, investment implications, and the complete supply chain map.

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ACTUATION

The motors and gearboxes that move robots. Who controls them, what they cost, and why the supply chain is consolidating.

• Part 1: The Actuator Cartel

• Part 2: From Harmonic Drives to Torque Motors

• Part 3: The Chinese Are Coming

• Part 4: Tesla, Figure, and Unitree’s Supplier Wars

• Part 5: The Actuator Oligopoly’s Endgame

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POWER

The batteries and thermal constraints that keep robots running. Why power is the silent bottleneck.

• Part 1: The 4-Hour Robot

• Part 2: The Leg Battery Problem

• Part 3: The Watt Tax

• Part 4: The Compute Mortgage

• Part 5: The $3 Worker

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MATERIALS

The rare earths and specialty alloys underneath everything. China’s monopoly and what it means.

• Part 1: The Magnet Nobody Talks About

• Part 2: The Engineering Case for NdFeB

• Part 3: The China Chokepoint

• Part 4: Who Profits

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SENSORS

The tactile and force sensors that give robots a sense of touch. The $168M market nobody’s covering.

• Part 1: The $168M Nobody Sees

• Part 2: The Touch Gap

• Part 3: The Second Chokepoint

• Part 4: The Real Alpha Layer

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VISION

The cameras, LiDAR, and depth sensors that let robots see. From hardware to software to investment thesis.

• Part 1: Cameras, LiDAR, Depth Sensors: The $38B Format War

• Part 2: The Software Eats the Sensors

• Part 3: Betting on Robot Eyes (coming soon)

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COMPUTE

Coming soon

STRUCTURE

Coming soon

END EFFECTORS

Coming soon

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STANDALONE ANALYSIS

• SemiAnalysis Got Unitree’s Cost Advantage Right

• The Agility IPO: $2.5 Billion for 100 Robots

• 1X’s Hands are Real. 10,000 of Them Might Not Be

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What Is Machine Narratives?

Machine Narratives is supply chain research for the humanoid robotics buildout. We trace the physical stack: actuators, power systems, materials, sensors, compute, and structure. We follow the chokepoints, map who controls them, and work out what it means for the companies trying to build at scale.

No hype. No pitch decks. Just the supply chain that decides whether these machines actually make it to production.

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