Ultimately, 'Learning' Determines Robot Value... The 'Brain Tutor' Set to Disrupt the $81.5 Billion Market

As the global humanoid robot market is set for explosive growth, the "Robot Brain Tutor" market—focused on training general-purpose robots to become skilled workers for industrial sites—is rapidly emerging as a new battleground in the future artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Once hardware performance becomes largely standardized, analysts say the key added value that will determine corporate productivity is which robots have learned on-site work more effectively.

On January 7 (local time), Hyun Shinkyun, President of LG CNS, held a press conference in Las Vegas, United States, where "CES 2026," the world’s largest electronics and IT exhibition, was taking place. He stated, "The role of experts who take robots with general-purpose brains and train them to suit specific sites is becoming increasingly important. Just as companies hire new university graduates and train them to become skilled workers through on-the-job training (OJT) with on-site mentors, LG CNS intends to become a ‘Robot Brain Tutor’ that injects industrial intelligence into robots."

Hyun Shinkyun, President of LG CNS. LG CNS

The Robot Brain Tutor goes beyond simply programming robotic movements, representing a sophisticated process that infuses general-purpose robot intelligence models with the language, rules, and know-how of specific industrial sites. This involves fine-tuning Robot Foundation Models (RFM)—which combine ‘visual intelligence’ for object recognition in factories, ‘language intelligence’ for understanding work instructions, and ‘action intelligence’ for precise assembly—using real-world data. Notably, LG CNS leverages digital twin-based simulation technologies to train robots tens of thousands of times in virtual environments before their deployment in real-world settings, thereby developing the ability to overcome physical-world variables.

In fact, global market research firms are highly optimistic about the potential of the robot brain learning and tuning market. Goldman Sachs, in its latest report, projected that the global humanoid robot market will surge to approximately 38 billion dollars (about 51.5 trillion won) by 2035. The report also noted that with the cost of manufacturing robots having plummeted by about 40%—from 250,000 dollars per unit in 2022 to around 150,000 dollars recently—the market’s focus has shifted from hardware to "software and learning algorithms." Research Nester presented an even more aggressive forecast, predicting the robot market will reach 81.5 billion dollars (about 110 trillion won) by 2035, with the education and training segment in particular expected to post an overwhelming annual growth rate of 44.7%.

In line with these market trends, LG is mobilizing its group-wide capabilities to build a 'robot intelligence' ecosystem. At this year’s CES, LG CNS unveiled its "Robot Brain Tutor" strategy as a central pillar for capturing both domestic and international Physical AI markets. LG CNS has also formed a strategic partnership and equity investment with Skild AI, a U.S.-based company that has raised its corporate valuation to nearly 14 billion dollars (about 20 trillion won) through major investments from Nvidia and SoftBank. Building on Skild AI’s general-purpose RFM, LG CNS is optimizing robots by combining this platform with the "industrial intelligence" it has accumulated over years of experience in manufacturing and logistics. Currently, concept validation (PoC) projects are underway at more than 10 client sites, using devices from top-three global robot companies such as Unitree, to test high value-added tasks like ship component assembly inspection.

The Robot Brain Tutor market is now evolving beyond mere technology supply to a "Learning as a Service (LaaS)" subscription model. Instead of incurring massive upfront costs, corporations subscribe to robot 'intelligence,' and then use the data generated on-site to continually refine and enhance this intelligence. Nvidia’s "Project GR00T" and Google’s "RT-2" model are providing such infrastructures, while Hyundai Motor and Samsung Group are also joining the Physical AI race, leveraging their manufacturing capabilities and data factories. Industry experts believe that the next two years—when robot hardware becomes truly mainstream—will mark a genuine inflection point for the market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.