Shares of Swedish bearings maker AB SKF rose more than 4% on Thursday following the company's announcement that it has entered into an agreement with Leaderdrive to establish a joint venture in China focused on precision transmission parts for robot joints.
Under the terms disclosed by SKF, the company will retain a 60% majority interest in the new venture. The partnership's stated objective is to develop and supply high-precision transmission components engineered to enable continuous operation of humanoid robots in industrial settings.
SKF described Leaderdrive as a global manufacturer with a specialization in precision robotic components. The companies said the joint venture will combine Leaderdrive's application knowledge in automation products and humanoid robotics with SKF's bearing technology expertise, scalable manufacturing capabilities and global supply-chain reach.
The venture will be based in China and intentionally positioned close to key suppliers and customers, the companies said. While the new entity will primarily serve the Chinese market - which SKF described as the world's largest and fastest-growing humanoid robotics market - it will also leverage SKF's global sales network to pursue opportunities in Europe, Japan and the United States.
SKF indicated the venture is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.
In remarks quoted by the companies, Yuyu Zuo, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director at Leaderdrive, said: "As the Embodied AI humanoids industry continues to scale, the stable delivery of reliable core transmission components becomes a critical differentiator. Building on our shared foundation in industrial applications, we can help drive technological development in these humanoids and create sustainable value in this expanding market."
The announcement emphasizes the combination of Leaderdrive's application-level experience in automation and humanoid robotics with SKF's strengths in bearings, manufacturing scale and distribution. Locating the venture in China is intended to place the operation close to important supply chains and customer bases while enabling distribution to other major markets through SKF's established sales channels.
No additional financial terms, production capacities or precise operational timelines beyond the projected end-of-2026 start were disclosed in the announcement.