NSK vs Schaeffler: Actuation compared

November 2026 edition · assessment by Frontier Tech Intelligence

Schaeffler ranks 10 on the Humanoids 100 with a score of 85; NSK ranks 14 with 83. NSK is ahead on commercials. Schaeffler is ahead on deployment. Level on production, progress, technology, positioning, firepower and leverage. NSK is based in Tokyo, Japan, Schaeffler in Herzogenaurach, Germany. NSK: Established. Schaeffler: Public, founded 1946. NSK is named in 17 signals and Schaeffler in 161.

NSK →

Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan · Humanoids · Components / Actuation · Established · nsk.com

NSK is contributing its precision-parts technology to the joint development and testing of humanoid robot components with Atom, including components relevant to robotic motion and actuation.

Humanoids 100 · rank 14 · score 83Robotics · watchlist · score 42

Scores, Humanoids (of 10)

Deployment6
Production8
Commercials10
Progress10
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower10
Leverage8

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

NSK is a Japanese bearing and actuation maker (TSE:6471) that established a Robotics Business Division in March 2026 and announced miniaturized rotary and linear actuators for humanoids, plus a February 2026 design win supplying a third-generation smart joint bearing module (with integrated torque and temperature sensing) to a leading North American humanoid robot company. Its agreed merger with NTN will create the world's largest bearing maker (~$11.1B combined revenue, closing 2027), with both companies naming physical-AI robots as the priority battleground, and it signed a Delta Electronics MOU (May 2026) for joint actuator modules. With more than 70 bearings per humanoid, this is a components-scale play against JTEKT, SKF, and IKO.

Latest signals

  • NSK and Atom signed a strategic partnership agreement for domestic humanoid AI robot development and deployment.Automation News Japan
  • NSK and Atom will collect physical AI data using Atom robots in NSK manufacturing facilities.Automation News Japan
  • Atom and NSK will collect physical AI data from humanoid robots operating at NSK manufacturing sites.The AI Insider

17 signals name NSK.

Facts, with sources

  • [object Object]Automation News Japan
  • NSK and Atom signed a strategic partnership agreement for domestic humanoid AI robot development and deployment.Automation News Japan
  • NSK and Atom signed a basic agreement for strategic partnership on development and implementation of domestic humanoid AI robots, combining NSK precision parts technology with Atom's physical AI technology to establish integrated development and robot industry baseAutomation News Japan

14 facts on file.

Schaeffler →

Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany · Humanoids · Components / Actuation · Public · founded 1946 · www.schaeffler.com

Schaeffler supplies actuator systems and motion-technology components for humanoid robots, including formed strain-wave gearboxes intended for humanoid joints.

Humanoids 100 · rank 10 · score 85Robotics · watchlist · score 65Space · watchlist · score 61

Scores, Humanoids (of 10)

Deployment9
Production8
Commercials5
Progress10
Technology8
Positioning8
Firepower10
Leverage8

Darker bar: ahead of the other company on that measure.

Positioning

Schaeffler is a German motion-technology group (>EUR 22B) taking the most hedged position in the humanoid vertical, playing four roles at once: supplier to ~45 humanoid OEM programs (with first meaningful contracts secured, including a five-year Tier-1 actuator deal with Humanoid UK), buyer committed to two four-digit fleets (>=1,000 Hexagon AEON by 2032 and a four-digit Humanoid Alpha rollout, first units in German plants by end-2026), investor (a Neura Series C participant), and an Agility Digit customer. Mass production of humanoid components launches before end-2026, its component set spanning bearings, roller screws, reducers, motors, sensors, and actuators. Robotics is <1% of 2025 sales, yet the Schaeffler Effect has re-rated its stock as a humanoid proxy, with the CEO targeting an order book in the hundreds of millions of euros by 2030.

Latest signals

  • ROKAE delivered its 10,000th humanoid force-controlled arm.RoboticsTomorrow
  • ROKAE robots have been deployed at Schaeffler’s flagship factory in China.PR Newswire, all releases
  • Five ROKAE Helios wheeled humanoids operate on Schaeffler’s Taicang component line.Humanoids Daily

161 signals name Schaeffler.

Facts, with sources

  • Binding phased agreement to integrate robots into live manufacturing operations, with first systems going live in Germany by end-2026The Robot Report
  • Schaeffler and Hexagon Robotics expect AEON factory deployments to begin within six months of traininghumanoid.guide
  • Hexagon Robotics' AEON humanoid entered Schaeffler's Humanoid Gym for factory-task traininghumanoid.guide

125 facts on file.

More comparisons

Questions this page answers

NSK or Schaeffler: which is ahead in humanoids?

Schaeffler ranks 10 on the Humanoids 100 with a score of 85; NSK ranks 14 with 83. NSK is ahead on commercials. Schaeffler is ahead on deployment. Level on production, progress, technology, positioning, firepower and leverage. NSK is based in Tokyo, Japan, Schaeffler in Herzogenaurach, Germany. NSK: Established. Schaeffler: Public, founded 1946. NSK is named in 17 signals and Schaeffler in 161.

How do NSK and Schaeffler compare?

Schaeffler ranks 10 on the Humanoids 100 with a score of 85; NSK ranks 14 with 83. NSK is ahead on commercials. Schaeffler is ahead on deployment. Level on production, progress, technology, positioning, firepower and leverage. NSK is based in Tokyo, Japan, Schaeffler in Herzogenaurach, Germany. NSK: Established. Schaeffler: Public, founded 1946. NSK is named in 17 signals and Schaeffler in 161. Both company files carry the scores on eight measures, the facts with sources and the latest signals.

Every comparison here comes from the same files members use every day.

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