The robot boom is attracting big money. But who actually gets paid when the machines get to work?In this Mere Mortals Robotics episode, I explore the robotics money map: the market’s size, the major players, and the economics that could determine what gets deployed between now and 2029.From NVIDIA, Alphabet and Amazon to Figure, Unitree and Boston Dynamics, we look beyond humanoid headlines to industrial robots, warehouse automation, autonomous machinery and robots working in our homes.This is me learning in public, testing ideas and trying to understand where robotics becomes genuinely useful.Recorded in September 2026. Company valuations and market figures reflect the discussion at that time. Cost examples and deployment scenarios are illustrative assumptions, rather than company quotes or guaranteed forecasts.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction: mapping the robot economy01:36 Industrial robots versus humanoids03:13 What counts as the robotics market?04:08 Factory robot growth towards 202905:42 China’s role in robot adoption07:17 Service robots and transport08:09 Automation and global supply chains09:31 Big tech and the robotics money map11:06 Specialists, humanoids and autonomous machinery13:22 Who pays for robots to learn?15:12 The potential AI–robotics feedback loop16:20 Can robots learn before arriving?17:46 Getting more from existing robots19:13 Why reliability compounds across a job21:29 The cost of a useful robot hour23:16 Human support and fleet failures25:23 Obsolescence and resale risk26:16 Who keeps the savings?27:35 What could actually be deployed by 2029?29:36 More robot output, less supplier revenue?31:13 Insurance, risk and deployment plans32:30 Home robot subscriptions and useful hours33:20 Different countries, different opportunities34:06 Five metrics that would change my mind35:03 What needs to happen next?36:20 Closing thoughtsWhere do you think robots will become economically useful first: warehouses, factories, mining or our homes? Let me know below.Subscribe for more Mere Mortals conversations exploring robotics, AI and the future of work.#Robotics #HumanoidRobots #RobotEconomyConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/  Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/K99e8fysBnTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcastsValue 4 Value Support:V4V: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast