Good morning dear Getquin community 👋

Today I'd like to introduce you to The Humanoid 66 and what it's all about. The market for humanoid robotics is just taking off and is facing one of the biggest upheavals since the advent of the automobile. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs expect the market to be worth between 38 billion and three trillion US dollars by 2035. By 2050, over 60 million humanoid robots could be in use in the USA alone.

With The Humanoid 66, Morgan Stanley has compiled a list of 66 companies that are likely to benefit directly or indirectly from this development. These include not only the manufacturers themselves, but also suppliers and technology groups that provide the necessary infrastructure, from semiconductor and battery producers to sensor technology and software through to platform operators for artificial intelligence.

The leading players include $TSLA (+7.3%) Tesla with Optimus, Figure AI with Figure 02, Agility Robotics with Digit, Boston Dynamics with Atlas and Unitree with H1 and G1. Tesla is already planning to use more than a thousand Optimus robots in its own factories by 2024. The goal is clear: to make humanoid machines suitable for mass production at prices between 20,000 and 30,000 US dollars. Figure AI works closely with $MSFT (+1.78%) Microsoft, OpenAI and $BMW (+1.35%) BMW and was able to raise over 675 million US dollars in a financing round.

Technological progress is the key driver of this development. Multimodal generative AI enables humanoid robots to understand speech, communicate with humans and perform tasks autonomously. Advances in actuator technology, LiDAR systems, force sensors and battery technology are making the machines more efficient and more human-like. The energy density of modern lithium-ion cells is increasing by around 20 percent every two years, while the cost per kilowatt hour is expected to fall to 80 US dollars by 2030.

At the same time, wage costs for human labor are rising significantly. In the USA, they are currently just under 40 US dollars per hour, while in China they are around 6.50 US dollars and in India 4.45 US dollars. Studies show that automation can reduce labor costs in industrialized countries such as Germany, Japan and the USA by up to a third by 2025. Sectors such as agriculture, construction, care, logistics and manufacturing, where millions of jobs remain unfilled today, will be particularly affected.

The Humanoid 66 shows that this change goes far beyond individual companies. A new industrial ecosystem is emerging that links hardware, software, energy and data. Price reduction, scalability and integration into existing value chains will determine who will be among the winners.

Takeaway: Humanoid robotics is no longer a vision of the future, but the beginning of a structural reorganization of the global economy. Those who invest early in key areas such as AI chips, batteries, sensor technology and automation are positioning themselves in a sector that is likely to have a similarly profound impact as the invention of the car. The crucial question is just how far society is prepared to accept and integrate this new form of workforce.

For those who want to delve deeper: These are the companies featured in the Morgan Stanley report Humanoids @Tenbagger2024
@Multibagger

1. Tesla - USA - $TSLA (+7.3%)

2. Toyota - Japan - $7203 (+1.43%)

3. Xpeng - China - $XPEV (+2.46%)

4. Naver - South Korea - (not listed)

5. CATL - China - $3750 (+5.9%)

6. LG Energy Solution - South Korea - $373220 Subsidiary of LG

7. Samsung / Samsung SDI - South Korea - $SMSN (+3.5%)

8. SK Innovation - South Korea - $096770

9. HD Hyundai Infracore / Doosan (component) - South Korea - $042670

10. Hengli Hydraulic - China - $601100

11. NTN - Japan - $6472 (+0.54%)

12. NSK - Japan - $6471 (+0%)

13. Sanhua - China - $002050

14. Siemens - Germany - $SIE (+2.6%)

15. Top Group ("Topu") - China - $601689

16. Ambarella - USA - $AMBA (+11.5%)

17. Synopsys - USA - $SNPS (+6.19%)

18. NXP - Netherlands / USA - $NXPI (+6.54%)

19. Qualcomm - USA - $QCOM (+6.62%)

20. TSMC - Taiwan - $TSM (+8.14%)

21. Wolfspeed - USA - $WOLF (+3.95%)

22. ARM - UK - $ARM (+13.04%)

23. onsemi - USA - $ON (+8.51%)

24. cadence - USA - $CDNS (+5.34%)

25. STMicroelectronics - Netherlands - $STM (+6.41%)

26. NVIDIA - USA - $NVDA (+4.33%)

27. SK hynix - South Korea - $HY9H (+3.94%)

28. sociionext - Japan - $6526

29. SMIC - China - $0981

30. infineon - Germany - $IFX (+2.76%)

31. Renesas - Japan - $6723 (+0%)

32. Dassault Systèmes - France - $DSY (+2.05%)

33. Mobileye - Israel / Intel ecosystem - $MBLY

34. Hexagon - Sweden - $HEXA B (+2.03%)

35. Knight Transportation - USA - $KNX (+1.1%)

36. DSV - Denmark - $DSV (+1.49%)

37. Werner Enterprises - USA - $WERN (+0%)

38. DHL Group - Germany / international - $DHL (+1.34%)

39. Kuehne + Nagel - Switzerland - $KNIN (+0.82%)

40. Obayashi - Japan - $1802 (+0.39%)

41. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) - China - $601668

42. RBG (presumably an Asian construction company) - (not listed)

43. Shimizu - Japan - $1803 (-0.46%)

44. Taisei - Japan - $1801 (+0.43%)

45. Baker Hughes - USA - $BKR (+1.44%)

46th SLB (Schlumberger) - USA - $SLB

47. Tenaris - Luxembourg / multinational - $TEN (+1.44%)

48. Halliburton - USA - $HAL (+3.36%)

49. amazon - USA - $AMZN (+2.94%)

50th Coupang - South Korea $CPNG (+1.9%)

51. JD.com - China - $JD (+4.83%)

52. BMW - Germany - $BMW (+1.35%)

53rd Mercedes-Benz - Germany - $MBG (+1.06%)

54th General Motors - USA - $GM (+0.29%)

55. BYD - China - $1211 (+2.29%)

56. Stellantis - NL / multinational - $STLAM (+3.92%)

57. Ford - USA - $F (+1.73%)

58. McDonald's - USA - $MCD (+1.84%)

59th Domino's - USA - $DPZ (+0.63%)

60. BGF Retail - South Korea - $282330

61. GS Retail - South Korea - $007070

62nd Lotte - South Korea - $004990

63. Yum China - China - $YUMC (-0.67%)

Source: Morgan Stanley Research Bluepaper Humanoids Investment Implications of Embodied AI and Stock3 drumbeat of Germany's humanoid robot manufacturers The Humanoid 66, 05.10.2025

https://api.guidants.com/db/e6/4/e134c52068e8c98a.pdf

Hello dear Getquin Community,

This year's IAA Mobility in Munich showed that the automotive industry is on the verge of a turning point. With over 30 percent more exhibitors than in 2023 and numerous premieres from Audi, $BMW (+1.35%) BMW, $MBG (+1.06%) Mercedes, $VOW3 (+0.41%) VW, Opel and Chinese challengers such as BYD and $1211 (+2.29%) BYD and $9868 (+3.96%) XPeng, it became clear that electromobility has now become the standard. However, behind these new platforms and concepts lies an even bigger topic, namely autonomous driving and the robotaxis of the future.

In order to present this field in a clear and transparent way for investors, I have broken down the entire value chain into individual sectors. These include automotive and suppliers, semiconductors and technology, communication and infrastructure, software and algorithms, logistics and transportation, insurance and finance, energy and infrastructure, battery and propulsion, maps and mapping, and safety and cybersecurity. Within each sector, I have analyzed the big players, the hidden champions and the blade manufacturers and highlighted my favorites in each case with a brief explanation. @Multibagger 😎

My aim was to develop as comprehensive a picture as possible that shows where the opportunities lie in this new industry and how investors can position themselves at an early stage. Perhaps the IAA 2025 was not just a car show, but actually the starting signal for the next big investment ecosystem around robotaxis and autonomous driving. If I have overlooked any important aspects or if a categorization was not quite precise, I look forward to your comments @BamBamInvest
@Epi
😎 and exciting additions @All-in-or-nothing 😎 Together we can understand this topic even better and learn from each other. @Tenbagger2024 😎

Feel free to leave a 👍. I wish you every success with your investments 🚀

🚘 Automotive & suppliers

Big player:

$TSLA (+7.3%) Tesla - pioneer in autopilot/FSD, vertical integration, huge database

$MBG (+1.06%) Mercedes-Benz Group - EQS/EQE with Level 3 approval in Germany, strong regulatory expertise

$BMW (+1.35%) BMW - New class platform, e-models with prepared sensor technology & level 3 approaches

$VOW (+0.77%) VW Volkswagen - Cariad software unit, massive push towards ADAS/AV

$7203 (+1.43%) Toyota (Japan) - largest OEM, cooperation with Pony.ai and Denso

$GOOGL (+4.54%) Alphabet Waymo (private/Alphabet $GOOGL) - robotaxi pioneer in the USA

$9888 (+3.76%) Baidu Apollo (9888.HK) - Robotaxi & Full-Stack AV in China

$Pony.ai (private, China) - Robotaxi & partnerships with Toyota

👉 Favorite: Alphabet Waymo ($GOOGL (+4.54%))

Moat through years of data collection in real operation, deep AI integration, financially secured by Alphabet. Compounder potential, as Waymo can scale as a platform.

Hidden champions:

$APTV (+3.64%) Aptiv - supplier for ADAS, sensor fusion, E/E architectures

$MG (+1.36%) Magna International - produces complete vehicle systems including autonomous components

$ZF Friedrichshafen (private) - German giant in steering and braking systems for AVs

Veoneer (private, formerly listed) - safety software, vision, sensor technology

$SHA0 (-0.44%) Schaeffler AG (DE, Germany, Xetra) - global supplier of drive, chassis and intelligent steering systems. Important for e-mobility and redundancy solutions in autonomous driving.

👉 Favorite: Aptiv ($APTV (+3.64%)
)

High barriers to entry through system integration, broad customer base (OEM-agnostic), strong cash flow and close partner of major car manufacturers.

Blade manufacturer:

$NVDA (+4.33%) Nvidia - Drive Orin / Thor chips for OEMs, standard in the AV sector

$QCOM (+6.62%) Qualcomm - Snapdragon Ride platform for AVs

$INTC (+4.32%) Intel Mobileye - EyeQ chips, one of the market leaders in ADAS

$LAZR (+6.47%) Luminar Technologies - Lidar, partnerships with Volvo, Mercedes, SAIC

$OUST Ouster, Inc. - Lidar solutions

$INVZ Innoviz (INVZ) - Lidar sensor technology, cooperation with VW & BMW

👉 Favorite: Nvidia ($NVDA (+4.33%)
)

Dominance in high-performance AI chips, ecosystem with software (CUDA, DriveSim), network effects through partnerships with almost all OEMs. Classic compounder, enormous moat due to technology and developer lock-in.

Takeaway:

In the automotive & supplier sector, it's not just who sells the most cars, but who has mastered the best technology stack for autonomy. OEMs work closely with specialized suppliers and blade manufacturers. Investors should focus less on unit numbers and more on data basis, software expertise and partnerships. The real levers often lie with suppliers and technology enablers, not just the traditional car brands.

💻 Semiconductors & technology

Big players:

$NVDA (+4.33%) Nvidia - GPUs & AV chips (Drive Orin, Drive Thor), software ecosystem

$QCOM (+6.62%) Qualcomm - Snapdragon Ride platform, automotive pipeline >30 billion USD

$INTC (+4.32%) Intel / Mobileye - EyeQ chips, ADAS market leader

$AMD (+3.05%) AMD - GPU/CPU, entry into automotive AI compute

👉 Favorite: Nvidia ($NVDA (+4.33%)
) Unique position: Technological moat through CUDA ecosystem, enabler of almost all AV developments, quasi-monopoly in high-end compute. Classic compounder with long-term growth leverage.

Hidden champions:

$LAZR (+6.47%) Luminar Technologies - Lidar supplier, partnerships (Volvo, Mercedes, SAIC)

$INVZ Innoviz Tech. - Lidar, BMW & VW as customers

$KOTMY Koito Manufacturing - world market leader in automotive lighting, entry into lidar through Cepton integration, important role as supplier for OEMs

$AMBA (+11.5%) Ambarella (AMBA) - camera chips & vision processors for AV

$STMPA (+5.96%) STMicroelectronics (France/Italy, Euronext) - automotive microcontrollers, sensors, power electronics. European counterpart to Infineon.

$AIXA (+2.97%) Aixtron (Germany, Xetra) - supplies manufacturing equipment for SiC and GaN semiconductors, indispensable for power electronics in EV/AV.

$ELG (+1.79%) Elmos Semiconductor (Germany, Xetra) - niche player for mixed-signal semiconductors in automotive, e.g. for radar and driver assistance.

👉 Favorite: Luminar ($LAZR (+6.47%)
) Clear technical USP, strategic OEM deals in series production, high barriers to entry in lidar technology. Scalable compounder in a niche market.

Blade manufacturer:

$TSM (+8.14%) Taiwan Semiconductor - production of all relevant automotive chips

$ASML (+5.73%) ASML Holding - Lithography monopolist, without ASML no AI/AV chips

$EQIX (+1.16%) Equinix - data center colocation for AI training & simulations

$DLR (+1.1%) Digital Realty - cloud and data infrastructure

$AMZN (+2.94%) Amazon AWS - Cloud resources for AI training, simulation & OTA updates

👉 Favorite: ASML ($ASML (+5.73%)
) Monopoly on EUV lithography, no advanced chips for autonomous driving without ASML. Moat through technology and patents, classic compounder.

Takeaway:

Semiconductors & technology are the foundation of autonomous driving. While Nvidia plays the central role with computing power, lidar specialists such as Luminar ensure perception. The real shovelware winner, however, is ASML, without whose machines there would be no AV chips. Investors will find the deepest technological moats in the entire value chain here.

📡 Communication & infrastructure

Big players:

$ERIC B (-0.84%) Ericsson - 5G/6G networks, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications, global player

$NOK (-1.31%) Nokia - 5G/Edge solutions for automotive & smart cities

$QCOM (+6.62%) Qualcomm - Snapdragon Digital Chassis, V2X chipsets, automotive pipeline

Huawei (private, China) - strong player in 5G/AV communication, partnerships in Asia

👉 Favorite: Qualcomm ($QCOM (+6.62%)
) Wide moat through IP in mobile communications, at the same time deep automotive integration via Snapdragon Ride & Digital Chassis. Compounder, as economies of scale in chips + licenses worldwide.

Hidden champions:

$Cohda Wireless (private, Australia) - pioneer for V2X communication, software solutions for OEMs

$Autotalks (private, Israel, acquisition by Qualcomm planned) - leader in dedicated V2X chips

Commsignia (private, Hungary) - V2X middleware & roadside units

👉 Favorite: Autotalks (private, Israel)

Technology leader in dedicated V2X chips, unique IP portfolio. Strong takeover candidate (Qualcomm already active), giving moat + exit potential.

Shovel manufacturer:

$CSCO (+0.5%) Cisco Systems - network infrastructure for automotive, cloud & edge

$AMT (-1.55%) American Tower - cell towers & infrastructure, benefits from 5G expansion

$CCI (-1.08%) Crown Castle - radio tower and fiber optic infrastructure (mainly USA)

$EQIX (+1.16%) Equinix - data centers, basis for edge computing and OTA updates

$DLR (+1.1%) Digital Realty - colocation & data center capacity for simulations and AV data

👉 Favorite: Equinix ($EQIX (+1.16%)
)

Global leader in data center colocation, benefits from the edge computing trend. Strong moat due to network effects & high switching costs. Long-term compounder.

Takeaway:

Communication & infrastructure are the silent cornerstones of autonomous driving. Without low-latency networks, edge data centers and V2X communication, no AV can drive safely. While Qualcomm forms the technological bridge between chip and infrastructure, hidden champions such as Autotalks secure niche leadership. On the blade side, Equinix remains unbeatable, as every OEM & service provider needs computing power at the edge.

🤖 Software, platforms & algorithms

Big Player:

$GOOGL (+4.54%) Alphabet / Waymo - Robotaxi pioneer, full-stack AV software, years of database

$TSLA (+7.3%) Tesla - FSD, Dojo supercomputer, vertical integration incl. fleet

$9888 (+3.76%) Baidu Apollo (HK) - largest robotaxi network in China, full-stack solution

$UBER (+1.69%) Uber - AV platform in partnership (e.g. with Momenta), scaling via existing user base

👉 Favorite: Alphabet / Waymo ($GOOGL (+4.54%)
)

Unbeatable moat due to millions of real driving kilometers + simulations, strong financial base via Alphabet, focus on platform scaling (robotaxi, licensing model). Compounder with global expansion potential.

Hidden champions:

$Momenta (private, China) - L4 software for OEMs, partner of Mercedes, Toyota

$AUR Aurora Innovation - software + sensor technology for truck autonomy, partner PACCAR, Volvo

$Argo AI (private, USA) - formerly Ford/VW, now partly continued through partner projects

$Oxbotica (private, UK) - modular AV software, focus on industrial & logistics applications

👉 Favorite: Aurora Innovation ($AUR
)

Clear focus on trucking (biggest lever in the AV market), long-term OEM partnerships, strong moat due to specialization in long-haul autonomy. Still young, but strong compounder potential.

Shovel manufacturer:

$PLTR (+3.12%) Palantir - data management, simulation & AI analysis for AV training

$SNOW (+2.68%) Snowflake - Cloud data platform, relevant for AV data streams

$MSFT (+1.78%) Microsoft Azure - cloud & simulation platform for OEMs

$AMZN (+2.94%) AWS - largest provider for AI training & simulations in the AV sector

$ADBE (+0.95%) Adobe - Simulation & Digital Twin Tools (via partnerships)

👉 Favorite: Palantir ($PLTR (+3.12%)
)

Deep integration in data pipelines, modular platform for simulation & decision logic. Moat due to lock-in effects with major customers, strong compounder with AI scaling.

Takeaway:

Software and algorithms are the real key to autonomous driving. Vehicles are becoming "data centers on wheels" and only the companies with data, simulation and AI stacks can dominate the market in the long term. Waymo provides the scalable robotaxi ecosystem, Aurora scores with its trucking focus, and Palantir ensures that data streams remain manageable. This is where the biggest margins are generated, not in the sale of hardware.

🚚 Logistics & transportation

Big player:

$AUR Aurora Innovation - focus on autonomous trucks, partnerships with Volvo & PACCAR

$TuSimple (private, USA) - pioneer for autonomous trucks, strong in the USA and China, currently undergoing restructuring

$AMZN (+2.94%) Amazon / Zoox - Robotaxi & autonomous delivery services, integration into e-commerce and Prime

$FDX (+3.02%) FedEx - test programs for autonomous delivery (cooperations with Aurora, Nuro, among others)

$DHL (+1.34%) Deutsche Post DHL - pilot projects with autonomous delivery vehicles & drones

👉 Favorite: Amazon / Zoox ($AMZN (+2.94%)
)

Moat through e-commerce ecosystem, integration of AV in the last mile, strong financial power and scalability. Compounder due to synergies between logistics and technology.

Hidden champions:

$Nuro (private, USA) - autonomous delivery vehicles specifically for the last mile

$Einride (private, Sweden) - electric autonomous trucks, focus on freight & sustainability

$Gatik (private, Canada/USA) - AV for medium distances (B2B supply chains, e.g. Walmart)

$Starship Technologies (private, Estonia/USA) - autonomous delivery robots for urban logistics

👉 Favorite: Gatik (private, Canada/USA)

Clear business model: "middle-mile" logistics, profitable niche market with predictable routes. Moat through early commercial contracts (Walmart). Compounder potential through scaling in the B2B sector.

Shovel manufacturer:

$CAT (+2.49%) Caterpillar - autonomous technologies for construction machinery & mining, know-how transferable

$DE (-0.56%) Deere & Co - autonomous agricultural machinery, similar technology stacks as for trucks

$ISRG (+2.12%) Intuitive Surgical - example of high-end automation (here as a cross-reference for AV tech transfer)

$UPS (+1%) United Parcel Service - logistics infrastructure, partner for AV integration

$R (+2.31%) Ryder System - fleet management, leasing and AV test integration

👉 Favorite: Deere & Co ($DE (-0.56%)
)

Autonomy already in use (precision farming), moat through data & technology in the agricultural sector. Compounder quality, as know-how in navigation & autonomy is transferable to transportation/logistics.

Takeaway:

Logistics is one of the first markets where autonomous driving brings real profitability. Trucks and delivery services benefit from 24/7 operation without drivers, while the last mile (Nuro, Gatik) opens up new business models. Amazon is the most powerful player through vertical integration, while hidden champions like Gatik occupy targeted profitable niche markets. Shovel manufacturers such as Deere supply the already proven autonomy stacks.

🏦 Insurance & finance

Major players:

$ALV (+0.6%) Allianz - the world's largest insurer, involved in AV pilot projects at an early stage

$MUV2 (+0.14%) Munich Re - reinsurance, develops models for AV risk transfer

$CS (+1.25%) Axa - active in AV insurance testing & research

$BRK.B (+1.4%) Berkshire Hathaway - large presence in the US motor insurance market via Geico

👉 Favorite: Munich Re ($MUV2 (+0.14%)
)

Moat through global reinsurance strength, pioneer in new risk models for AVs. Compounder characteristics through diversification and ability to insure new markets (cyber, AV, climate) at an early stage.

Hidden champions:

$LMND (+5.39%) Lemonade - digital insurance, AI-driven, quickly adaptable for AV policies

$Root Insurance (private/USA, formerly listed) - data-driven car insurance, use of driving data

$Next Insurance (private, USA) - platform approach, simple onboarding for new risks

$Wefox (private, Germany) - digital platform for insurance brokerage, flexible for new products

👉 Favorite: Lemonade ($LMND (+5.39%)
)

Pure digital insurer with AI-driven underwriting. Moat through data and automation approach. Still small, but compounder potential as scalable platform can be used in new markets such as AV policies.

Shovel manufacturer:

$SREN (-0.26%) Swiss Re - global reinsurer, benefits from increasing AV risk volume

$VRSK Verisk Analytics - data & risk analytics for insurers, AV risk models

$GWRE (+1.97%) Guidewire Software - software solutions for insurance companies, customization for AV policies

$FICO (-0.49%) Fair Isaac - Analytics & risk modeling, increasingly relevant for complex AV data

👉 Favorite: Verisk Analytics ($VRSK
)

Moat through exclusive data pools & analytics. Enabler for almost all insurers. Compounder character, as growing demand for data & models in new markets such as AVs.

Takeaway:

Autonomous driving shifts liability from the driver to the manufacturer or software provider. Insurers need to develop new products, reinsurers and data providers are becoming more important. Munich Re is protecting the industry, Lemonade is testing digital models and Verisk is providing the data intelligence without which no AV insurance can function. Investors will find silent but indispensable winners of the upheaval here.

🛡️ Security & Cybersecurity

Big players:

$PANW (+4.04%) Palo Alto Networks - market leader in network security, focus on cloud & IoT, relevant for connected vehicles

$CRWD (+4.58%) CrowdStrike ($CRWD) - endpoint security, strong platform for AV endpoints and fleets

$CHKP (+0%) Check Point ($CHKP) - Security appliances & firewalls, focus on embedded & IoT

$CSCO (+0.5%) Cisco Systems ($CSCO) - Network security + automotive infrastructure

👉 Favorite: Palo Alto Networks ($PANW (+4.04%)
)

moat due to the width of the platform, which extends from the data center to the vehicle. With the $CYBR (+2.51%) -integration, PANW has also covered the topic of identity security. Compounder properties through continuous expansion, high customer loyalty and a strong M&A strategy.

Hidden champions:

$CON (-0.43%) Argus Cyber Security (private, subsidiary of Continental) - specialized in automotive cybersecurity

$Upstream Security (private, Israel) - cloud-based cyber platform specifically for connected vehicles

Karamba Security (private, Israel) - embedded security for control units (ECUs)

$4704 (+3.55%) VicOne (subsidiary of Trend Micro) - AV-specific threat analysis

👉 Favorite: Argus Cyber Security (private, part of $CON (-0.43%)
Continental)

Pioneer in the automotive segment, deep integration in OEMs. Moat through early partnerships and specialization in vehicle architectures.

Shovel manufacturer:

$AKAM (+1.19%) Akamai - Content Delivery & Edge Security, relevant for OTA updates

$FTNT (+2.73%) Fortinet - Network & IoT security, broad base

$ZS Zscaler - cloud-native security for data traffic between AV & cloud

$NET (+5.29%) Cloudflare - infrastructure protection, DDoS protection for fleets & updates

$BB (+2.33%) BlackBerry QNX - Operating system & security framework for automotive

👉 Favorite: BlackBerry ($BB (+2.33%)
)

Moat by QNX, which is already running in millions of vehicles. Strong lock-in with OEMs. Compounder potential if QNX continues to scale as a security operating system for AV architectures.

Takeaway:

Cybersecurity is the nervous system of autonomous driving. Without secure communication, OTA updates and fleet protection, AV is inconceivable. Palo Alto Networks provides the necessary breadth and depth, Argus secures the vehicles themselves, and BlackBerry QNX provides the foundation in the control units. Investors are relying on the invisible gatekeepers of tomorrow's mobility.

⚡ Energy & infrastructure

Big player:

$EBK (-0.15%) EnBW - operator of charging infrastructure in Germany, expansion of fast-charging parks

$SHEL (+0.71%) Shell - massive entry into e-mobility & charging infrastructure, partnerships with OEMs

$BP (+1.04%) BP - charging and energy infrastructure via bp pulse, global rollout

$TSLA (+7.3%) Tesla ($TSLA) - Supercharger network as AV backbone, potential licensing model

👉 Favorite: Tesla ($TSLA (+7.3%)
)

Moat due to world's largest fast charging network with high availability & own software integration. Compounder, as Supercharger can grow as a service independently of the OEM.

Hidden champions:

$Ionity (private, joint venture of BMW, Mercedes, Ford, VW, Hyundai) - Europe's premium charging network 👉 Access via OEMs such as BMW or Mercedes

$ALLG Allego - listed charging infrastructure operator, focus on Europe

$FAST (+2%) Fastned (FAST.AS) - fast charging network in Europe, rapidly growing

$DCFC Tritium DCFC - manufacturer of fast charging stations, globally active

👉 Favorite: Fastned ($FAST (+2%)
)

Clear business model as a pure fast-charging operator, strong moat through premium locations & brand perception. Compounder potential via expansion in Europe.

Shovel manufacturer:

$ABBN (+2.04%) ABB - leader in charging hardware & power grid infrastructure

$ENR (+2.89%) Siemens Energy - grid infrastructure & charging hardware, important supplier for energy transition + AV

$SU (+2.13%) Schneider Electric - power distribution, smart grids for charging infrastructure

$6594 (+1.47%) Nidec - motors & drives for e-mobility

$ETN (+1.86%) Eaton - Energy management & charging infrastructure components

👉 Favorite: ABB ($ABBN (+2.04%)
)

Broadly positioned from fast charging hardware to grid technology. Moat due to market leadership & long-standing customer base. Compounder, as electromobility + AV will bring growth for decades.

Takeaway:

Autonomous vehicles don't just need software, they need a reliable charging and energy base. Tesla is securing a massive advantage with its Supercharger network, while hidden champions such as Fastned are setting the pace in Europe. On the shovel side, ABB dominates with its global infrastructure expertise. Investors should not underestimate this sector, as no AV will drive without energy.

🏙️ Mobility services & platforms

Big players:

$UBER (+1.69%) Uber Technologies - ride-hailing, partnerships with AV start-ups (Momenta), robotaxi plans in Munich

$LYFT (+5.04%) Lyft - ride-hailing, own AV programs, cooperations with Aptiv & Motional

$DIDIY (+3.33%) Didi Global - largest ride-hailing network in China, AV research on Didi Autonomous Driving

$9888 (+3.76%) Baidu Apollo - robotaxi operator in China, leading with Apollo Go

$AMZN (+2.94%) Amazon / Zoox - fully autonomous robotaxi, integration into Amazon ecosystem

👉 Favorite: Baidu Apollo ($9888 (+3.76%)
HK, China, HKEX)

Moat through network effects in the world's largest mobility market. Apollo Go has already completed hundreds of thousands of robotaxi journeys. Compounder potential as China aggressively promotes AV.

Hidden champions:

$Momenta (private, China) - L4 autonomy software, partnerships with Mercedes & Toyota, based in Suzhou, China

👉 Access indirectly via investors such as $7203 (+1.43%) Toyota or Mercedes $MBG (+1.06%)

$Motional (joint venture Hyundai & Aptiv, private, USA/South Korea) - Robotaxi tests in the USA

👉 Access via $Hyundai or $APTV (+3.64%) Aptiv

$WeRide (private, China) - Robotaxi & AV bus solutions, based in Guangzhou, China

👉 Investors: Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance

$Cruise (private, USA) - GM subsidiary for robotaxis, based in San Francisco

👉 Access via $GM (+0.29%) General Motors

👉 Favorite: Motional (private, USA/South Korea)

Strong moat through OEM partnerships (Hyundai + Aptiv). Realistic scaling through series integration, compounder potential via global fleet integration.

Shovel manufacturer:

$HTZ (-0.73%) Hertz Global - fleet management, integration of AVs in rental fleets

$SIX2 (-0.58%) Sixt SE - Car sharing & fleet leasing, focus on Europe

$R (+2.31%) Ryder System ($R, USA, NYSE) - fleet services & leasing, AV test integration

$GRAB (+1.43%) Grab Holdings ($GRAB, Singapore, Nasdaq) - Southeast Asian ride-hailing market leader, entry into AV services

$Ola Cabs (private, India) - AV pilot projects in India

👉 Favorite: Sixt SE ($SIX2 (-0.58%)
.DE, Germany, Xetra)

Moat due to premium positioning in Europe, flexible business model (rental, leasing, car sharing). Compounder, as Sixt invests early in fleet integration of AVs and benefits from growing Mobility-as-a-Service market.

Takeaway:

Mobility services are the interface to the end customer. This is where it will be decided whether AVs remain just technology or break through to the mass market. Baidu dominates in China, Motional scores with strong partners in the West, and Sixt provides the platform to bring scalable AVs into everyday life in Europe. Investors who get in early will secure access to the future platform monopolies of mobility.

🔋 Battery & drive

Big player:

$300750 CATL - world market leader for battery cells, supplies almost all major OEMs

$373220 LG Energy Solution - global player, supplier for Tesla, Hyundai, GM

$6752 (+0.34%) Panasonic Holdings - long-standing partner of Tesla, strong in energy storage

$1211 (+2.29%) BYD - integrates battery production and vehicles, pioneer in blade batteries

👉 Favorite: CATL ($300750
SZ, China, Shenzhen)

Moat due to technological leadership and economies of scale, supplies almost all global OEMs. Classic compounder, as batteries are at the heart of every AV fleet.

Hidden champions:

$Northvolt (private, Sweden) - European battery startup, sustainable production, supplies VW and BMW 👉 Access indirectly via VW ($VOW3 (+0.41%) DE, Germany, Xetra) or BMW ($BMW (+1.35%) DE, Germany, Xetra)

$SLDP Solid Power - specialist for solid-state batteries, partnerships with Ford and BMW

$ProLogium (private, Taiwan) - solid-state batteries, pilot projects with Mercedes👉 Access indirectly via Mercedes-Benz Group ($MBG (+1.06%) DE, Germany, Xetra)

$QS QuantumScape ($QS, USA, NYSE) - solid-state batteries, strong focus on future technology

$MOD (+3.48%) Modine Manufacturing (USA, NYSE) - Thermal management for batteries, e-motors and power electronics. Critical for range and safety.

$KULR (+10.02%) Technology (USA, NYSE) - specializes in battery cooling, energy storage and recycling. Still small, but focus on safety makes it interesting in the AV context.

$ZIL2 (-3.69%) ElringKlinger (DE, Germany, Xetra) - supplier of battery packs, housings, seals and fuel cell technology. Supports OEMs in electrification and alternative drive systems.

👉 Favorite: Solid Power ($SLDP
USA, Nasdaq)

Technology leader in solid-state batteries with strong OEM partnerships. Moat through patents and early market entries. Compounder potential through commercialization from 2027+.

Blade manufacturer:

$6594 (+1.47%) Nidec (JP) - leader in electric motors for EVs and AVs

$IFX (+2.76%) Infineon Technologies (DE) - semiconductors for power electronics and battery management

$300450 Wuxi Lead Intelligent (China, Shenzhen) - machines for battery production

$UMI (+3.24%) Umicore (Belgium, Euronext) - cathode materials and recycling

$ALB (+6.78%) Albemarle (USA, NYSE) - Lithium mining and processing

👉 Favorite: Infineon Technologies ($IFX (+2.76%)
DE, Germany, Xetra)

Moat due to market leadership in power electronics, deeply integrated in battery and drive systems. Compounder potential due to growing demand for silicon carbide (SiC) chips for EV and AV applications.

Takeaway:

Battery and drive are the foundation of autonomy. Without powerful energy storage, reliable electric motors and robust power electronics, no autonomous vehicle can be operated economically. CATL dominates cell production, Solid Power is a promise of the future in solid state technology, and Infineon supplies the critical power electronics. Investors who neglect this sector are ignoring the heart of autonomous driving.

🗺️ Maps & Mapping

Big players:

$GOOGL (+4.54%) Alphabet / Waymo (USA, Nasdaq) - HD maps for robotaxis, combined with AI-supported real-time navigation

$9888 (+3.76%) Baidu Apollo (China, HKEX) - leader in AV mapping in China, integrated into Apollo Go

$HERE Technologies (private, based in NL/DE, owners: Audi, BMW, Mercedes and others) - global provider of HD maps, industry standard for many OEMs

$TOM2 (+1.93%) TomTom (Netherlands, Euronext) - specialized in HD maps for AVs, partner of Volvo and Bosch

👉 Favorite: HERE Technologies (private, access via OEMs Audi, BMW, Mercedes)

Moat through global map databases, OEM consortium as backing. Compounder potential, as almost all autonomous vehicles rely on HD maps.

Hidden champions:

$002405 Navinfo Co. Ltd, (China, Shenzhen) - market leader for digital maps in China, partnerships with OEMs - unfortunately not tradable in the EU

$Civil Maps (private, USA) - specialized in AI-supported HD mapping for AVs

$DeepMap (private, USA, acquired by $NVDA (+4.33%) Nvidia) - high-precision mapping, integration with Nvidia Drive

$Mapbox (private, USA) - cloud-based mapping platform, strong in the developer ecosystem

👉 Favorite: NavInfo ($002405
SZ, China, Shenzhen)

Dominance in the Chinese market, regulatory anchoring and partnerships with major OEMs. Moat through market access in China, compounder potential through data growth.

Shovel manufacturer:

$PL Planet Labs (USA, NYSE) - daily earth observation data, basis for dynamic mapping

$HEXA B (+2.03%) Hexagon AB (Sweden, Nasdaq Stockholm) - measurement technology and geodata solutions

$TRMB (+2.3%) Trimble (USA, Nasdaq) - positioning and geospatial data for AV and industrial applications

👉 Favorite: Hexagon AB ($HEXA B (+2.03%)
Sweden, Nasdaq Stockholm)

Moat due to decades of experience in geodata and measurement technology, strong market position in industry and automotive. Compounder potential, as mapping and positioning are indispensable for all AV applications.

Takeaway:

High-precision maps are the nervous system of autonomous driving. Without continuously updated HD maps, vehicles cannot navigate safely. HERE secures a key role through OEM stakes, NavInfo dominates the Chinese market, and Hexagon provides the geospatial bucket technology. Investors should not overlook this sector, as mapping is the invisible foundation on which autonomy works.

Sources: own research, https://www.t-online.de/mobilitaet/aktuelles/id_100901210/iaa-mobility-muenchen-2025-alle-neuheiten-von-audi-bmw-vw-opel.html

Images: https://www.deraktionaer.de/artikel/mobilitaet-oel-energie/robotaxis-das-milliardenrennen-der-autonomen-autos-20381083.html

https://insideevs.de/features/763886/vorschau-iaa-2025-neuheiten-2026/

🛒 New purchases

• R3N SME shares (fraction)$R3N493
• 
  Secunet (cybersecurity 🇩🇪)$YSN (+3.15%)
• 
  Atoss Software (HR software 🇩🇪)$AOF (+6.11%)
• 
  Novo Nordisk (healthcare 🇩🇰)$NOVO B (+1.77%)
• 
  Capgemini (IT services 🇫🇷)$CAP (+1.64%)

🔄 Movement

• Sale of Infineon Technologies (semiconductors 🇩🇪), to reallocate to other sectors.$IFX (+2.76%)

🎯 Quick summary

Early September rhymes with :

The strategy remains the same: build a portfolio balanced between growth and dividendsby gradually adding solid companies.

• Dividends falling steadily 💵
• Strengthening in health + tech
• A small rotation with the exit of Infineon

$META (+2.61%)

Hello folks,

AI is not just a pipe dream, AI is a reality.

And the DeepSeek narrative from a year ago has also disappeared.

I hope you are well invested in the shovel manufacturers who are building the infrastructure for the big 7. And supply them with electricity.

Meta secures nuclear power for data centers

$CEG (+5.6%)
$VST (+6.95%)

https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/energie/meta-atomstrom-100.html

$TLNE

Talen Energy - Power producer signs long-term contract with Amazon Web Services.

https://aktienmagazin.de/blog/analystenempfehlungen/talen-energy-stromproduzent-schliest-langfristigen-vertrag-mit-amazon--152080.html

$EQT (+1.84%)

EQT becomes energy supplier of the next AI era - Pennsylvania relies on gas instead of wind or solar.

$GEV (+8.2%)

GE Vernova is supplying seven @Simpson Homer City with seven high-performance turbines, while Kiewit Power is responsible for construction. This infrastructure lays the foundation for Pennsylvania to serve as a reliable supply location for hyperscalers and AI providers.

https://aktienmagazin.de/nachrichten/hot-news/eqt-wird-energielieferant-der-nachsten-ki-ara-pennsylvania-setzt-auf-g-149150.html

HOCHTIEF subsidiary builds mega data center for Meta in the USA

$HOT (+2.81%)

https://www.hochtief.de/aktuelles-medien/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilung/hochtief-tochter-baut-in-den-usa-mega-rechenzentrum-fuer-meta

data centers

$NVDA (+4.33%)

NVIDIA Corp ('US67066G1040')

A dominant player: Hardly any AI data center runs without Nvidia

$TLNE

Talen Energy Corp ('US87422Q1094')

Talen Energy - Power producer signs long-term contract with Amazon Web Services.

$APLD (+6.32%)

Applied Digital Corp ('US0381692070')

Applied Digital: AI data centers as growth driver

$LITE (+8.12%)

Lumentum Holdings Inc ('US55024U1097')

Lumentum Holdings is a beneficiary of demand for data center infrastructure

$BTDR (+16.37%)

Bitdeer Technologies Group ('KYG114481008')

Bitdeer grows rapidly: hashrate doubled, but losses still rise significantly

$ALAB (-11.73%)

Astera Labs Inc ('US04626A1034')

Astera Labs goes from insider tip to profit rocket! The AI connectivity star conquers billion-dollar markets!

$IFX (+2.76%)

Infineon Technologies AG ('DE0006231004')

Infineon convinces with green technology in a difficult environment

$TTR1 (+7.67%)

technotrans SE ('DE000A0XYGA7')

Technotrans: Ice cold back on the road to success

$HOT (+2.81%)

Hochtief AG ('DE0006070006')

Hochtief - Infrastructure investments worth billions are growth drivers.

$FLEX (+4.26%)

Flex Ltd ('SG9999000020')

Flex: Contract manufacturer with power - Data center boom drives share to new heights.

$ORCL (+7.02%)

Oracle Corp ('US68389X1054')

DEPOT BRIEFING: Meta Platforms (META;i) to build giga data center. Investments in AI infrastructure remain high.

$PRIM (+5.26%)

Primoris Services Corp ('US74164F1030')

DEPOT BRIEFING: Meta Platforms (META;i) to build giga data center. Investments in AI infrastructure remain high.

$VST (+6.95%)

Vistra Energy Corp ('US92840M1027')

DEPOT BRIEFING: Meta Platforms (META;i) to build giga data center. Investments in AI infrastructure remain high.

$EQT (+1.84%)

EQT Corp ('US26884L1098')

EQT becomes energy provider of the next AI era - Pennsylvania turns to gas instead of wind or solar

$AMZN (+2.94%)

Amazon.com Inc ('US0231351067')

Strategy on multiple fronts! Amazon cools GPUs, invests in Anthropic and fills shopping carts during Prime Days!

$STX (+3.7%)

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC ('IE00BKVD2N49')

Seagate - Irish to significantly improve margins and sales again in H2 with new technology.

$ECL (-0.23%)

Ecolab Inc ('US2788651006')

With 3D TRASAR Technology against water waste: How Ecolab is making data centers smarter.

$AAOI (+7.23%)

Applied Optoelectronics Inc ('US03823U1025')

Applied Optoelectronics reports production milestone and growth in the data center sector

$IESC (+7.7%)

Data centers as growth engine: IES Holdings continues to grow strongly and shines with increasing margins!

$VRT (+8.84%)

WHERE KI CALCULATES, VERTIV COOLS: LIQUID COOLING SYSTEMS FUEL RECORD RESULTS AND A FORECAST INCREASE FOR 2025!

$EME (+2.47%)

ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDER EMCOR BENEFITS FROM US INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM AND DATA CENTER MAINTENANCE

$FIX (+4.09%)

COMFORT SYSTEMS BENEFITS FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW DATA CENTERS AND CHIP FACTORIES - EARNINGS RECORD IN THE SEASONALLY WEAKEST PERIOD!

In a small town in Louisiana, Mark Zuckerberg is having the largest artificial intelligence data center ever built for Meta on agricultural land. It is the size of 70 soccer pitches and cost 10 billion dollars.

Rayville is a town in north-eastern Louisiana in the USA that is experiencing a declining population. In the 2020 census, the population was 3347, down almost 21 percent from 4234 in 2000.

However, this is now likely to change. The state regulatory authorities approved a controversial plan to supply power to the largest artificial intelligence data center to date, which is being built by technology company Meta. This clears the way for the construction of three gas-fired power plants. This was reported by the portal "Nola".

The project is being built on a former agricultural area of around 70 soccer pitches. It is expected to cost around 10 billion dollars (approx. 8.6 billion euros). Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced plans to further expand the area so that it would be comparable to the size of Manhattan. The company is plunging headlong into the high-risk race for supremacy in the emerging AI sector.

"We chose Louisiana as the location for our largest data center to date for a variety of reasons, including excellent infrastructure connectivity, a strong labor base and a reliable power grid," said a Meta spokeswoman.

Criticism of Meta plans

However, the project in Richland Parish has met with criticism due to its enormous energy requirements, among other things. Davante Lewis was the only person to vote against the plan. He said the agreement leaves fundamental questions unanswered that are "too bitter to swallow", "Nola" quotes him as saying.

https://www.focus.de/finanzen/in-ort-mit-3347-einwohnern-entsteht-fuer-10-milliarden-dollar-groesstes-ki-rechenzentrum_e9ff4911-4348-48b8-9903-9038e11fcefa.html

After my first post on humanoid robots received a lot of positive feedback, I went into more detail. I have subsequently added my favorites in each sector.

Extended analysis of the value chain including shovel manufacturers and potential hidden champions

New categorySecondary key sectors (sales, marketing, financing)

In additionTop 25 companies worldwide, as well as Top 10 Europe and Top 10 Asia

I have also added a video link for beginners. This will give you an idea of how far the development of humanoid robotics has already progressed.

https://www.stern.de/panorama/wissen/humanoider-roboter---wie-reagiert-er-auf-beleidigungen--35996156.html

Thank you for your attention and your support 🙏

🌐 1. value chain of humanoid robots (with hidden champions)

1. research & chip design

$ARM (+13.04%) ARM (UK) - CPU-IP, energy-efficient processors

$SNPS (+6.19%) Synopsys (US) - EDA software, chip design

$CDNS (+5.34%) Cadence (US) - EDA & Simulation

$PTC PTC (US) - Engineering Software, CAD/PLM

$DSY (+2.05%) Dassault Systèmes (FR) - 3D Design & Digital Twin

$SIE (+2.6%) Siemens (DE) - Industrial Software & Lifecycle Mgmt

$ADBE (+0.95%) Adobe (US) - Design, AR/UX

ANSYS (US) - multiphysical simulation - acquisition by Synopsis

Altair (US) - CAE, simulation, digital twin - acquisition by Siemens

$HXGBY (+1.49%)
Hexagon (SE) - Metrology & Simulation

$AWE (+0.24%) Alphawave IP Group (UK) - High-speed chip IP for AI/robotics

1.Synopsis, 2.Siemens and 3.Adobe are my top 3 in this sector

2. manufacturing technology & equipment

$ASML (+5.73%) ASML (NL) - Lithography (EUV)

$AMAT (+6.37%) Applied Materials (US) - Semiconductor equipment

$8035 (+2.53%) Tokyo Electron (JP) - wafer fabrication

$KEYS (+2.89%) Keysight Technologies (US) - Metrology

$6857 (+3.83%) Advantest (JP) - Chip test systems

$TER (+4.96%) Teradyne (US) - test systems + cobots

$6954 (+2.77%) Fanuc (JP) - Industrial robots, CNC

$CAT (+2.49%) Caterpillar (US) - autonomous machines

$KU2G KUKA (DE) - industrial robots

Comau (IT) - automation - not listed on the stock exchange

$ROK (+2.09%) Rockwell Automation (US) - industrial automation

$JBL (+4.28%) Jabil (US) - contract manufacturing (EMS/ODM)

$KIT (-5.34%) Kitron (NO) - European EMS/ODM manufacturer

$AIXA (+2.97%) Aixtron (DE) - deposition equipment for compound semiconductors

$LRCX (+5.98%)
Lam Research (US) - Etch/deposition systems

$MKSI (+10.18%)
MKS Instruments (US) - Plasma/vacuum technology

$ASM (+2.76%)
ASM International (NL) - Deposition systems

1.ASML, 2.Keysight Technologies, 3.Fanuc are my top 3 in this sector

3. chip manufacturing (foundries)

$TSM (+8.14%) TSMC (TW) - leading foundry

$SMSN (+3.5%) Samsung Electronics (KR) - foundry + memory

$GFS (+5.93%) GlobalFoundries (US) - specialty chips

$INTC (+4.32%)
Intel Foundry Services (US) - new western foundry player

$981
SMIC (CN) - largest Chinese foundry

$UMC
UMC (TW) - Power/RF/Embedded chips

1.TSMC, 2.Intel, 3.Samsung Electronics are my top 3 in this sector

4. computing & control unit ("brain")

$NVDA (+4.33%) Nvidia (US) - GPUs, AI chips

$INTC (+4.32%) Intel (US) - CPUs, FPGAs

$AMD (+3.05%) AMD (US) - CPUs, GPUs

$MRVL (+5.21%) Marvell (US) - Network Chips

$MU (+7.38%) Micron (US) - Memory

$DELL (+3.2%) Dell Technologies (US) - Edge & Infrastructure

Graphcore (UK) - AI chips (IPU) - not a listed company

Cerebras (US) - Wafer-scale engine - not a listed company

SiPearl (FR) - European HPC chip - not a listed company

1.Nvidia, 2.Marvell, 3.Micron are my top 3 in this sector

5. sensors ("senses")

$6758 (+2.61%) Sony (JP) - image sensors

$6861 (+3.57%) Keyence (JP) - Industrial sensors

$STM (+6.41%) STMicroelectronics (FR/IT) - Sensors, MCUs

$TDY Teledyne (US) - optical/infrared sensors

$CGNX (+8.15%) Cognex (US) - Machine Vision

$HON (+1.85%) Honeywell (US) - sensor technology, security

ANYbotics (CH) - autonomous sensor fusion - not a listed company

$AMBA (+11.5%) Ambarella (US) - video & computer vision SoCs for real-time image recognition

$OUST
Velodyne Lidar (US) - Lidar sensors - acquisition by Ouster

$AMS (+4.23%)
OSRAM (AT/DE) - optical sensors

1.Teledyne, 2.Keyence, 3.Ouster are my top 3 in this sector

6. actuators & power electronics ("muscles")

$IFX (+2.76%) Infineon (DE) - Power Electronics

$ON (+8.51%) onsemi (US) - Power & Sensors

$TXN (+2.61%) Texas Instruments (US) - Mixed-Signal Chips

$ADI (+5.59%) Analog Devices (US) - Signal Processing

$PH Parker-Hannifin (US) - Hydraulics/Pneumatics

$MP (+24.26%) MP Materials (US) - Magnets

$APH (+2.76%) Amphenol (US) - Connectors

$6481 (-1.61%) THK (JP) - Linear guides & actuators

$6324 (+0%)
Harmonic Drive (JP) - Precision gears & servo drives for robotics

$6594 (+1.47%)
Nidec (JP) - Electric motors

$6506 (+0.46%)
Yaskawa (JP) - Drives & Robotics

$SU (+2.13%)
Schneider Electric (FR) - Energy & control solutions

$ZIL2 (-3.69%)
ElringKlinger (DE) - Battery & fuel cell technology, lightweight construction

1.Parker-Hannifin, 2.MP Materials, 3.Infinion are my top 3 in this sector

7. communication & networking ("nerves")

$QCOM (+6.62%) Qualcomm (US) - mobile communications, edge AI

$ANET (-3.05%) Arista Networks (US) - Networks

$CSCO (+0.5%) Cisco (US) - Networks, Security

$EQIX (+1.16%) Equinix (US) - Data centers

NTT Docomo (JP) - 5G/6G carrier - not a listed company

$VZ Verizon (US) - Telecommunications

$SFTBY SoftBank (JP) - Carrier + Robotics

$ERIC B (-0.84%)
Ericsson (SE) - 5G/IoT infrastructure

$NOKIA (-0.85%)
Nokia (FI) - 5G/6G for industry

$HPE (+2.34%)
Juniper Networks (US) - Network technology - acquisition by HP

1.Arista Networks, 2.SoftBank, 3.Cisco are my top 3 in this sector

8. energy supply

$3750 (+5.9%) CATL (CN) - Batteries

$6752 (+0.34%) Panasonic (JP) - Batteries

$373220 LG Energy (KR) - Batteries

$ALB (+6.78%) Albemarle (US) - Lithium

$LYC (+13.23%) Lynas (AU) - Rare earths

$UMICY (+1.48%) Umicore (BE) - recycling

WiTricity (US) - inductive charging - not a listed company

$ABBN (+2.04%) Charging (CH) - charging infrastructure

$SLDP
Solid Power (US) - Solid state batteries

Northvolt (SE) - European batteries - not a listed company

$PLUG
Plug Power (US) - fuel cells

$KULR (+10.02%)
KULR Technology (US) - Thermal management & battery safety for mobile systems

1.Albemarle, 2.CATL, 3.Panasonic are my top 3 in this sector

9. cloud & infrastructure

$AMZN (+2.94%) Amazon AWS (US) - Cloud, AI

$MSFT (+1.78%) Microsoft Azure (US) - Cloud, AI

$GOOG (+4.41%) Alphabet Google Cloud (US) - Cloud, ML

$VRT (+8.84%)
Vertiv Holdings (US) - Data center infrastructure (UPS, cooling, edge)

$ORCL (+7.02%)
Oracle Cloud (US) - ERP + Cloud

$IBM (+0.57%)
IBM Cloud (US) - Hybrid cloud + AI

$OVH (+0.3%)
OVHcloud (FR) - European cloud

1.Alphabet, 2.Microsoft, 3.Oracle are my top 3 in this sector

10. software & data platforms

$PLTR (+3.12%) Palantir (US) - Data integration

$DDOG (+5.7%) Datadog (US) - Monitoring

$SNOW (+2.68%) Snowflake (US) - Data Cloud

$ORCL (+7.02%) Oracle (US) - Databases, ERP

$SAP (+1.79%) SAP (DE) - ERP systems

$SPGI S&P Global (US) - financial/market data

ROS2 Foundation - robotics middleware - not listed on the stock exchange

$NVDA (+4.33%) NVIDIA Isaac (US) - robotics development - part of Nvidia

$INOD (+0.68%) Innodata (US) - data annotation & AI training data

$PATH (+5.17%)
UiPath (RO/US) - Robotic process automation

$AI (+9.38%)
C3.ai (US) - AI platform

$ESTC (-0.95%)
(NL/US) - Search & data analysis

1.S&P Global, 2.Palantir, 3.Datadog are my top 3 in this sector

11. end applications / robots

$ABBN (+2.04%) ABB (CH/SE) - Industrial Robots

$6954 (+2.77%) Fanuc (JP) - Industrial robots

$TSLA (+7.3%) Tesla Optimus (US) - humanoid robot

$9618 (+3.61%) JD.com (CN) - logistics robot

$AAPL (+2.1%) Apple (US) - Platform & UX

$700 (+3.21%) Tencent (CN) - Platform & AI

$9988 (+5.38%) Alibaba (CN) - logistics & platform

PAL Robotics (ES) - humanoid robots - not a listed company

Neura Robotics (DE) - cognitive humanoid robots - not a listed company

$TER (+4.96%) Universal Robots (DK) - cobots - belongs to the Teradyne Corporation

Engineered Arts (UK) - humanoid robots - not a listed company

$ISRG (+2.12%) Intuitive Surgical (US) - surgical robotics

$GMED (+2.16%)
Globus Medical (US) - surgical robotics (ExcelsiusGPS platform)

$7012 (+4.35%) Kawasaki Heavy Industries (JP) - industrial robots, automation

$CPNG (+1.9%) Coupang (KR) - Logistics end user

$IRBT (+4.6%)
iRobot (US) - consumer robotics (e.g. Roomba), non-humanoid, but navigation/sensor fusion

Boston Dynamics (US) - humanoid & mobile robots-no listed company

Hanson Robotics (HK) - humanoid robots (Sophia) - not a listed company

Agility Robotics (US) - humanoid robot "Digit" - not a listed company

1.Apple, 2.Tencent, 3.Alibaba are my top 3 in this sector

🛠 2. cross enablers (shovel manufacturers) - with hidden champions

Raw materials & battery materials

Albemarle - Lynas - Umicore

$SQM
SQM (CL) - Lithium

$ILU (+29.03%)
Iluka Resources (AU) - Rare earths

$ARR (+24.59%)
American Rare Earths (US/AU) - New supply chains

my number 1 in the sector is Albemarle

manufacturing technology

ASML - Applied Materials - Tokyo Electron

$LRCX (+5.98%)
Lam Research (US) - Plasma/etching processes

$ASM (+2.76%)
ASM International (NL) - ALD equipment

$MKSI (+10.18%)
MKS Instruments (US) - Plasma/vacuum technology

my number 1 in the sector is ASML

Quality assurance

Keysight - Advantest - Teradyne

$EMR (+2.2%)
National Instruments (US) - Measurement technology - from Emerson Electric adopted

$300567
ATE Test Systems (CN) - test systems

$FORM (+6.1%)
FormFactor (US) - Wafer probing

my number 1 in the sector is Keysight

Motion & Drive

Parker-Hannifin

Festo (DE) - Pneumatics, Soft Robotics - not a listed company

Bosch Rexroth (DE) - Drives, Controls - not a listed company

$6481 (-1.61%)
THK (JP) - Linear guides

my number 1 in the sector is Parker-Hannifin

Sensors/Imaging

$TDY Teledyne

$BSL (+1.22%) Basler (DE) - Industrial cameras

FLIR (US) - Thermal imaging sensors - acquisition by Teledyne

ISRA Vision (DE) - Machine Vision - not a listed company

my number 1 in the sector is Teledyne

Magnets & Materials

MP Materials

$6501 (+3.59%)
Hitachi Metals (JP) - Magnetic materials

VacuumSchmelze (DE) - Magnetic materials - not a listed company

$4063 (+2.63%)
Shin-Etsu Chemical (JP) - Specialty materials

my number 1 in the sector is MP Materials

Chip Design & Simulation

Synopsys - Cadence - ARM

$SIE (+2.6%)
Siemens EDA (DE/US)-Mentor Graphics-strategic business unit of Siemens AG

Imagination Tech (UK) - GPU-IP - not a listed company

$CEVA (+6.87%)
CEVA (IL) - Signal Processor IP

my number 1 in the sector is Synopsys

Engineering & Lifecycle

PTC - Dassault - Siemens

Altair (US) - Simulation - no longer a listed company

$HXGBY (+1.49%)
Hexagon (SE) - Metrology

$SNPS (+6.19%)
ANSYS (US) - Simulation - takeover by Synopsys

my number 1 in the sector is Siemens

Networks & Data Centers

Arista - Cisco - Equinix

$HPE (+2.34%)
Juniper (US) - Networks - Acquisition of HPE

$DTE (-0.72%)
T-Systems (DE) - Industry cloud

$OVH (+0.3%)
OVHcloud (FR) - European cloud

my number 1 in the sector is Arista

Cloud infrastructure

AWS - Azure - Google Cloud

$ORCL (+7.02%)
Oracle Cloud (US) - ERP & databases

$IBM (+0.57%)
IBM Cloud (US) - Hybrid Cloud

$9988 (+5.38%)
Alibaba Cloud (CN) - Asian Cloud

$VRT (+8.84%)
Vertiv Holdings (US) - Cloud/Infra

my number 1 in the sector is Alphabet (Google)

finance/information infra

S&P Global

$MCO (-1.73%)
Moody's (US) - Ratings

$MSCI (+0.73%)
MSCI (US) - Indices

$MORN
Morningstar (US) - Investment Research

my number 1 in the sector is S&P Global

Creative/Experience Infra

Adobe

$ADSK (+3.1%)
Autodesk (US) - CAD & Design

$U
Unity (US) - 3D/AR simulation

Epic Games (US) - Unreal Engine - not a listed company

my number 1 in the sector is Adobe

Platform & Ecosystem

Apple - Tencent - Alibaba

$META (+2.61%)
Meta (US) - AR/VR, Social Robotics

ByteDance (CN) - AI & platforms - not a listed company

$9888 (+3.76%)
Baidu (CN) - AI & Cloud

my number 1 in the sector is Tencent

Infrastructure/Edge

Dell

$HPE (+2.34%)
HPE (US) - Edge Computing

$SMCI (+4.81%)
Supermicro (US) - AI servers

$6702 (+1.43%)
Fujitsu (JP) - Edge & HPC

my number 1 in the sector is Dell

storage solutions

Micron

$HY9H (+3.94%)
SK Hynix (KR) - Memory

$285A (+1.78%)
Kioxia (JP) - NAND

$WDC
Western Digital (US) - Storage solutions

my number 1 in the sector is Micron

🏛 3. secondary key sectors with hidden champions

Financing & Capital

$GS (+4.33%) Goldman Sachs (US) - investment bank; ECM/DCM, M&A, growth financing

$MS Morgan Stanley (US) - investment bank; tech banking, capital markets

$BLK (+2.59%) BlackRock (US) - asset manager; capital allocation, ETFs/index funds

$9984 (+6.69%) SoftBank Vision Fund (JP) - mega VC; growth equity in robotics/AI

Sequoia Capital (US) - venture capital; early/growth in AI/robotics - this is a classic venture capital fund

DARPA (US) - government R&D funding (robotics/defense) - independent research and development agency

EU Horizon (EU) - research funding/grants for DeepTech - Innovative Europe pillar

China State Funds (CN) - state industry/technology fund

Lux Capital (US) - VC for DeepTech - Uptake (US) - AI-based predictive maintenance

DCVC (US) - Robotics & AI focus - investing exclusively via VC fund investments

Speedinvest (AT) - EU VC for robotics - access to investment only via fund investments

my number 1 in the sector is Softbank

Maintenance & Service

$SIE (+2.6%) Siemens (DE) - Industrial Service, Lifecycle & Retrofit

$ABBN (+2.04%) ABB (CH/SE) - Robotics Service, Spare Parts, Field Support

$GEHC (+2.37%) GE Healthcare (US) - Medtech service incl. robotic systems

Uptake (US) - AI-based predictive maintenance - not a listed company

Augury (US/IL) - condition monitoring, condition diagnostics - not a listed company

$KU2 KUKA Service (DE) - Robotics maintenance

$6954 (+2.77%) Fanuc Service (JP) - global service network

Boston Dynamics AI Institute (US) - Robotics longevity - funded by Hyundai Motor Group

my number 1 in the sector is Siemens

Marketing & Advertising

$WPP (+1.8%) WPP (UK) - global advertising group; branding/communications

$OMC Omnicom (US) - marketing/PR network

$PUB (+1.84%) Publicis (FR) - communications/advertising group

$META (+2.61%) Meta (US) - Digital Ads (Facebook/Instagram)

$GOOG (+4.41%) Google Ads (US) - search & display advertising

TikTok / ByteDance (CN) - social ads & distribution - not a listed company

$AAPL (+2.1%) Apple (US) - Branding/UX; Acceptance & Platform Marketing

$WPP (+1.8%)
AKQA (UK/US) - Tech branding - Since 2012 majority owned by the WPP Groupbut continues to operate as an autonomous operating unit

R/GA (US) - Innovation marketing - not a listed company

Serviceplan (DE) - largest independent EU agency - not a listed company

my number 1 in the sector is Meta

Law, Regulation & Ethics

ISO (CH) - international standards, robotics standards

TÜV (DE) - certification & safety tests

UL (US) - safety/conformity testing

EU AI Act (EU) - legal framework for AI & robotics

UNESCO AI Ethics (UN) - global ethics guidelines

Fraunhofer IPA (DE) - Robotics safety standards

ANSI (US) - standards

IEC (CH) - Electrical engineering standards

Training & Talent

MIT (US) - Robotics/AI Research & Education

ETH Zurich (CH) - autonomous systems & robotics

Stanford (US) - AI/Robotics labs & spin-offs

Tsinghua University (CN) - Robotics/AI in Asia

CMU (US) - Robotics Institute

EPFL (CH) - Robotics research

TU Munich (DE) - humanoid robot "Roboy"

🌍 Top 25 companies for humanoid robotics

These companies are central to the development & production of humanoid robotsbecause without them, crucial parts of the chain would be missing:

Chips & computing power (brain of the robots)

$NVDA (+4.33%) Nvidia (US) - AI GPUs & Isaac platform, foundation for robotic AI

$2330 TSMC (TW) - world's most important foundry, produces the AI chips

$ASML (+5.73%) ASML (NL) - EUV lithography, indispensable for chip production

$005930 Samsung Electronics (KR) - memory, logic, foundry

$HY9H (+3.94%) SK Hynix (KR) - DRAM & NAND memory for AI

$MU (+7.38%) Micron (US) - Memory solutions for AI workloads

my number 1 in the sector is ASML

Sensors & perception (senses of robots)

$SONY Sony (JP) - image sensors, market leader

$6861 (+3.57%) Keyence (JP) - Industrial sensors & vision systems

$CGNX (+8.15%) Cognex (US) - Machine Vision, precise image processing

my number 1 in the sector is Keyence

Actuators & motion (muscles of robots)

$IFX (+2.76%) Infineon (DE) - power electronics, motor control

$6594 (+1.47%) Nidec (JP) - World market leader for electric motors

$PH Parker-Hannifin (US) - hydraulics/pneumatics, motion technology

$6481 (-1.61%) THK (JP) - Linear guides & actuators

my number 1 in the sector is Parker-Hannifin

Communication, cloud & infrastructure (nerves & data flow)

$QCOM (+6.62%) Qualcomm (US) - Mobile & Edge Chips

$AMZN (+2.94%) Amazon AWS (US) - Cloud & AI infrastructure

$MSFT (+1.78%) Microsoft Azure (US) - Cloud, AI services

$CSCO (+0.5%) Cisco (US) - Networks & Security

$VRT (+8.84%) Vertiv Holdings (US) - Data Center Infrastructure

my number 1 in the sector is Microsoft

End Applications & Platforms (robots themselves)

$TSLA (+7.3%) Tesla (US) - humanoid robot Optimus

$ABBN (+2.04%) ABB (CH/SE) - Robotics & Automation

$6954 (+2.77%) Fanuc (JP) - industrial robots & CNC systems

$7012 (+4.35%) Kawasaki Heavy Industries (JP) - industrial robots

PAL Robotics (ES) - humanoid robots (TALOS, ARI, TIAGo) - not a listed company

Neura Robotics (DE) - cognitive humanoid robots - not a listed company

Universal Robots (DK) - cobots

my number 1 in the sector is Tesla

🇪🇺 Top 10 European key companies for humanoid robotics

$ASML (+5.73%)
ASML (NL)

World market leader in EUV lithography - no modern chips for AI & robotics without ASML.

$IFX (+2.76%) Infineon (DE)

Leading in power electronics & motor control - crucial for actuators of humanoid robots.

$STM (+6.41%)
STMicroelectronics (FR/IT)

Sensors, microcontrollers & power chips - the basis for control & perception.

$SAP (+1.79%)
SAP (DE)

ERP & data platforms, important for integrating humanoid robots into industrial processes.

$SIE (+2.6%)
Siemens (DE)

Industrial software, automation, digital twin - key for engineering & lifecycle management.

$KU2 KUKA (EN)

Robotics pioneer, industrial robots & automation - know-how for humanoid motion mechanics.

PAL Robotics (ES) - not a listed company

Specialist for humanoid robots (TALOS, ARI, TIAGo), internationally used in research & service.

Neura Robotics (DE) - Not a listed company

Young high-tech company, develops cognitive humanoid robots with advanced AI (4NE-1).

Universal Robots (DK) - Not a listed company

Market leader for cobots - platform for safe human-robot collaboration.

Engineered Arts (UK) - not a listed company

Develops humanoid robots such as Amecaknown for realistic facial expressions & gestures - important for HRI (Human-Robot Interaction)

🌏 Top 10 Asian key companies for humanoid robotics

$2330
TSMC (Taiwan)

World's largest semiconductor foundry, produces high-end chips (e.g. Nvidia, AMD, Apple) - no AI hardware without TSMC.

$005930
Samsung Electronics (South Korea)

Foundry, memory, logic chips, image sensors - extremely broadly positioned in robotics components.

$HY9H (+3.94%)
SK Hynix (KR) - Memory

$SONY
Sony (Japan)

Market leader in CMOS image sensors, essential for robotic vision & perception.

$6861 (+3.57%)
Keyence (Japan)

Sensor technology & machine vision for industrial automation, widely used in robotics.

$6954 (+2.77%)
Fanuc (Japan)

Industrial robots & CNC systems, one of the most important manufacturers of robotics hardware worldwide.

$6506 (+0.46%)
Yaskawa Electric (Japan)

Drives, motion control & robot arms - relevant for humanoid motion control.

$6594 (+1.47%)
Nidec (Japan)

World market leader for electric motors (from mini motors to high-performance drives).

$7012 (+4.35%)
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (JP) - Industrial robots

$9618 (+3.61%)
JD.com (China)

Driver for robotics in e-commerce & logistics, invests in humanoid robotics applications

The hype is all about humanoid robots, but the constant winners are in the background.

I have divided the analysis into two perspectives. 1. the complete value chain of humanoid robots, which shows all the players from the chip to the finished robot, and 2. the blade manufacturers in the background, who always earn money as enablers, regardless of which manufacturer wins the race.

ASML, Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron dominate in manufacturing technology. Quality assurance comes from Keysight, Advantest and Teradyne. Chip design is supported by Synopsys, Cadence and ARM. Data streams are secured by Arista Networks, Cisco and Equinix. The computing basis is created in the cloud by Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet. Albemarle, Lynas and Umicore play a central role in raw materials and battery materials. These companies monetize their customers' investment waves, have high barriers to entry, service revenues and pricing power, but remain cyclical with risks from export rules, capex cuts and currency movements.

🌐 Value chain of humanoid robots Sector overview

1. research & chip design (IP / EDA)

$ARM (+13.04%)
ARM Holdings (ARM, UK/USA) - CPU architectures

$SNPS (+6.19%)
Synopsys (SNPS, USA) - Chip design software

$CDNS (+5.34%)
Cadence Design Systems (CDNS, USA) - EDA & Simulation

2. manufacturing technology & equipment

$ASML (+5.73%)
ASML (ASML, NL) - EUV lithography, key monopoly

$AMAT (+6.37%)
Applied Materials (AMAT, USA) - Process equipment

$8035 (+2.53%)
Tokyo Electron (8035.T, JP) - Wafer equipment

$KEYS (+2.89%)
Keysight Technologies (KEYS, USA) - Test & RF measurement technology

$6857 (+3.83%)
Advantest (6857.T, JP) - Semiconductor test systems

$TER (+4.96%)
Teradyne (TER, USA) - Test systems + robotics (Universal Robots)

3. chip production (Foundries)

$TSM (+8.14%)
TSMC (TSM, TW) - Largest contract manufacturer

$005930
Samsung Electronics (005930.KQ, KR) - Memory + Foundry

$GFS (+5.93%)
GlobalFoundries (GFS, USA) - Specialized production

4. computing & control unit ("brain")

$NVDA (+4.33%)
Nvidia (NVDA, USA) - GPUs, AI accelerators

$INTC (+4.32%)
Intel (INTC, USA) - CPUs, FPGAs

$AMD (+3.05%)
AMD (AMD, USA) - CPUs/GPUs

$MRVL (+5.21%)
Marvell Technology (MRVL, USA) - Network/data center chips

5. sensors ("senses")

$6758 (+2.61%)
Sony (6758.T, JP) - CMOS image sensors

$6861 (+3.57%)
Keyence (6861.T, JP) - Vision systems, sensors

$STM (+6.41%)
STMicroelectronics (STM, CH/FR) - MEMS sensors

6. actuators & power electronics ("muscles")

$IFX (+2.76%)
Infineon (IFX, DE) - Power semiconductors, SiC

$ON (+8.51%)
N Semiconductor (ON, USA) - SiC/Power Chips

$STM (+6.41%)
STMicroelectronics (STM, CH/FR) - Motor control & power

$TXN (+2.61%)
Texas Instruments (TXN, USA) - Motor control, power ICs

$ADI (+5.59%)
Analog Devices (ADI, USA) - Energy & BMS chips

7. communication & networking ("nerves")

$QCOM (+6.62%)
Qualcomm (QCOM, USA) - 5G/SoCs

$AVGO (+11.37%)
Broadcom (AVGO, USA) - Network & radio chips

$SWKS (+7.09%)
Skyworks Solutions (SWKS, USA) - RF components

8. energy supply

$300750
CATL (300750.SZ, CN) - Batteries

$6752 (+0.34%)
Panasonic (6752.T, JP) - Batteries for automotive/robotics

$373220
LG Energy Solution (373220.KQ, KR) - Batteries

9. cloud & infrastructure

$AMZN (+2.94%)
Amazon (AMZN, USA) - AWS

$MSFT (+1.78%)
Microsoft (MSFT, USA) - Azure

$GOOG (+4.41%)
Alphabet (GOOGL, USA) - Google Cloud

$EQIX (+1.16%)
Equinix (EQIX, USA) - Data center operator

$ANET (-3.05%)
Arista Networks (ANET, USA) - Network infrastructure

$CSCO (+0.5%)
Cisco Systems (CSCO, USA) - Edge & Data Center Networks

10. software & data platforms

$PLTR (+3.12%)
Palantir (PLTR, USA) - Data integration, decision software

$DDOG (+5.7%)
Datadog (DDOG, USA) - Cloud monitoring / observability

$SNOW (+2.68%)
Snowflake (SNOW, USA) - Cloud-native data platform

$ORCL (+7.02%)
Oracle (ORCL, USA) - Databases, ERP

$SAP (+1.79%)
SAP (SAP, DE) - ERP/cloud systems

$PATH (+5.17%)
UiPath (PATH, USA) - Automation software (RPA)

$AI (+9.38%)
C3.ai (AI, USA) - Enterprise AI platform

11. end applications / robots

$ABB
ABB (ABB, CH) - Industrial robots

$6954 (+2.77%)
Fanuc (6954.T, JP) - Industrial robots, CNC

$TSLA (+7.3%)
Tesla (TSLA, USA) - Optimus" humanoid robot

$9618 (+3.61%)
JD.com (JD, CN) - E-commerce & automated logistics

🛠️ Shovel manufacturer for humanoid robots

🔹 Hardtech (physical "shovels")

These companies provide the material basis: manufacturing machines, raw materials, semiconductor base.

Semiconductor Equipment & Manufacturing

$ASML (+5.73%)
ASML (ASML, NL) - EUV lithography (monopoly).

$AMAT (+6.37%)
Applied Materials (AMAT, USA) - Wafer equipment.

$8035 (+2.53%)
Tokyo Electron (8035.T, JP) - Process equipment.

Test systems (hardware-side)

$6857 (+3.83%)
Advantest (6857.T, JP) - Semiconductor test.

$TER (+4.96%)
Teradyne (TER, USA) - Test systems + industrial robots.

Materials & raw materials

$ALB (+6.78%)
Albemarle (ALB, USA) - Lithium (batteries).

$LYC (+13.23%)
Lynas Rare Earths (LYC.AX, AUS) - Rare earths for magnets.

$UMICY (+1.48%)
Umicore (UMI.BR, BE) - Cathode materials, recycling.

🔹 Soft/infra (digital "shovels")

These companies supply the infrastructure & toolswithout which development, training and operation would be impossible.

Design Software & IP

$SNPS (+6.19%)
Synopsys (SNPS, USA) - EDA software.

$CDNS (+5.34%)
Cadence Design Systems (CDNS, USA) - Chip design & simulation.

$ARM (+13.04%)
ARM Holdings (ARM, UK/USA) - CPU architectures (license model).

Test & Measurement (software/signal level)

$KEYS (+2.89%)
Keysight Technologies (KEYS, USA) - Electronics & RF test systems.

Network & data center backbone

$ANET (-3.05%)
Arista Networks (ANET, USA) - High-speed networks.

$CSCO (+0.5%)
Cisco Systems (CSCO, USA) - Data center/edge networks.

$EQIX (+1.16%)
Equinix (EQIX, USA) - Data centers (colocation).

Cloud infrastructure

$AMZN (+2.94%)
Amazon (AMZN, USA) - AWS (cloud, AI training).

$MSFT (+1.78%)
Microsoft (MSFT, USA) - Azure.

$GOOG (+4.41%)
Alphabet (GOOGL, USA) - Google Cloud.

Takeaway: Investing in the infrastructure stack allows you to participate in the robotics trend regardless of the subsequent product winner and reduces the individual product risk, but you have to live with cycles. In your opinion, which stage of the chain offers the best risk/return combination and fits into a disciplined portfolio?

Source: Own analysis based on publicly available company information and IR materials of the companies mentioned.

Image material: Techa Tungateja/iStockphoto

$BNTX (+0.25%)
$KSPI (+2.49%)
$HIMS (+3.56%)
$MELI (+2.77%)
$PLTR (+3.12%)
$DRO (-0.74%)
$IFX (+2.76%)
$9434 (+2.56%)
$FR0010108928
$DHL (+1.34%)
$BOSS (+0.85%)
$CONTININS
$DOCN (+6.43%)
$LMND (+5.39%)
$BP. (+1.49%)
$FRA (+0.13%)
$PFIZER
$SNAP (+4.52%)
$AMD (+3.05%)
$SMCI (+4.81%)
$OPEN (-0.28%)
$CPNG (+1.9%)
$LCID (+2.92%)
$CBK (-0.75%)
$ZAL (+1.81%)
$NOVO B (+1.77%)
$VNA (+1.59%)
$BAYN (-0.34%)
$UBER (+1.69%)
$SHOP (+3.46%)
$MCD (+1.84%)
$DIS (+1.31%)
$ROK (+2.09%)
$ABNB (+1.62%)
$RUN (+13.61%)
$FTNT (+2.73%)
$O (+1.4%)
$DASH (+5.7%)
$DUOL
$S92 (+1.53%)
$DDOG (+5.7%)
$SEDG (+4.48%)
$QBTS (+25.61%)
$RHM (+0.79%)
$DTE (-0.72%)
$ALV (+0.6%)
$LLY (-0.46%)
$CYBR (+2.51%)
$PTON (+6.01%)
$DKNG (+3.21%)
$RL (+3.01%)
$PINS
$TTWO (+2.68%)
$TWLO (+2.43%)
$MNST (-3.14%)
$STNE (-1.01%)
$MUV2 (+0.14%)
$WEED (+0.34%)
$GOOS (+1.71%)
$PETR3T
$ANET (-3.05%)

$AIXA (+2.97%)
$IFX (+2.76%)
$NVDA (+4.33%)

Hello my dears,

How do you classify the DZ-Bank report?

And is Aixtron with a P/E ratio of 19 and a PEG of +0.80 even a hidden AI pearl?

Profit growth of almost 30% at such a P/E ratio is rare.

In addition, there is a dividend yield which will rise to 2.65% by 2027.

(Dear all, I remain invested, so this is only my personal opinion and not investment advice)

Aixtron, a leading supplier of deposition equipment for semiconductors, is positioning itself as a key beneficiary of the rising demand for gallium nitride (GaN) chips. These energy-efficient semiconductors are on the verge of a breakthrough in data centers and will drive the GaN market significantly in the coming years. In particular, the strategic cooperation between Infineon and NVIDIA in the development of new power supply solutions for AI data centers should provide Aixtron with strong impetus in the medium term and establish the company as an indispensable partner in the digital transformation.

Technology leader in GaN production systems

Aixtron is the global leader in epitaxy systems. These are machines that are used to apply ultra-thin crystal layers to semiconductor substrates. A market share of around 90 % for epitaxy tools for GaN on silicon speaks for itself. Aixtron sets the pace in this specialty segment. The core products in the portfolio are the MOCVD systems ("Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition"), including systems such as the G10-GaN or the AIX G5+ C, which were developed specifically for the production of GaN-based power semiconductors. These systems make it possible to apply particularly uniform and high-performance GaN layers to wafers, which is a decisive step towards the mass production of efficient chips. The G10 GaN system is characterized in particular by its scalability, high productivity and reproducibility. According to Aixtron, the G10 GaN systems also enable higher production volumes at a lower cost per wafer, improve the energy efficiency of the components and allow a more uniform layer quality. These advantages are crucial to meet the high demands placed on components in modern AI data centers and power supply solutions.

The GaN market: explosive growth through energy efficiency

The global GaN market is poised for a period of explosive growth as GaN chips replace traditional silicon-based semiconductors in an increasing number of applications. This growth is fueled by several factors, including the increasing adoption of 5G technology, electric vehicles, renewable energy and, last but not least, the rapid expansion of data centers. The AI boom, with models requiring trillions of computing operations per second, is causing power consumption in data centers to explode. In data centers, where energy consumption is a key cost and environmental factor, GaN chips are on the verge of a breakthrough in board and rack-level architecture. Their properties, such as higher switching frequencies, lower energy losses during power conversion and significantly lower waste heat, make them the ideal choice for high-performance yet energy-efficient power supply solutions. These advantages not only lead to significant power savings in cooling, but also to more compact designs, which makes optimal use of the limited space in data centers. The transition to GaN-based power supplies in data centers is seen as a megatrend that will significantly shape the GaN market in the coming years and will directly benefit Aixtron as a supplier.

Infineon-NVIDIA cooperation makes Aixtron a future AI beneficiary

The recent collaboration between Infineon and NVIDIA in the area of next-generation power solutions for AI data centers represents a strategic milestone from which Aixtron should benefit significantly in the medium term. This partnership aims to dramatically improve energy efficiency in AI data centers. At the heart of this development is the expected use of GaN power semiconductors as the standard for high-voltage DC-DC converters. The transition to 800 V HVDC architecture, which Infineon and NVIDIA are planning, is a key enabler of this development. This new power supply is to be introduced on a larger scale from 2027, with the partners explicitly emphasizing the need for energy-efficient power distribution. This is where the advantages of GaN chips over conventional silicon semiconductors come into their own. GaN enables significantly higher switching frequencies and therefore less energy loss during current conversion. This leads to less waste heat, which in turn means massive power savings in data center cooling. As Aixtron supplies the necessary deposition equipment for the production of these high-performance GaN chips, the company is directly involved in the value chain of this pioneering technology. Any expansion of GaN production by Infineon or other semiconductor manufacturers inspired by this cooperation will generate direct demand for Aixtron equipment and secure the company a central role in the evolution of AI infrastructure.

2025 is a transition year. The next growth phase should start in 2026!

Aixtron is currently experiencing a cyclical weakness because, among other things, SiC chip manufacturers are investing less due to the slower transition to electric cars. Nevertheless, the company managed to increase incoming orders by 10% to EUR 132.2 million in the first quarter. The order backlog of EUR 307.9 million represents a solid basis for the annual targets, which include sales of EUR 530 to 600 million with an EBIT margin of 18 to 22%. "With the ability to now process 300mm GaN wafers ourselves in the innovation center, we can support our customers even better in the future transition to the next wafer size," says Aixtron. As a result, the company believes it is well positioned for the next growth phase, which should start in 2026. The P/E ratio26e of 14.4 is favorable for the start of a new upswing.

http://www.dzbank-wertpapiere.de/Magazin/aktien_trading/aixtron-ein-kuenftiger-stern-am-ki-himmel-was-dafuer-spricht-newse052fe5a3f1bda2c885e9a468d5172fff8c0a12d