Texas Instruments (TI) estimates that each humanoid robot could carry between $500 and $1,000 in the company’s own chips, according to CEO Haviv Ilan, speaking on the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 21. The US chipmaker, one of the world’s largest suppliers of analog semiconductors, reported revenue of $6.055 billion that day, up 28% year over year, and acknowledged that global capacity for basic analog chips is tight.
Texas Instruments and humanoid robots: the key facts in 20 seconds
- TI estimates $500 to $1,000 in its own chip content per humanoid robot.
- Revenue reached $6.055 billion in the third quarter, up 28%, with data centers nearly doubling sales.
- Analog chip supply is tightening, and prices have risen slightly in the second half of the year.
The humanoid figure is the company’s own estimate of its potential per unit, not a sales number. Ilan didn’t tie the range to any specific customer or give volume figures, though, as 24/7 Wall St. reported, he did anticipate that 2027 will bring major production ramp-ups in this field. That fits the strategy TI has been building in recent months, with products and reference designs aimed at these robots’ joints, hands, and perception systems.
Where TI’s chips sit inside a humanoid
A humanoid robot has dozens of joints, and each one needs a motor, its power electronics, a microcontroller to run it in real time, and sensors to measure current, position, and temperature. That’s where TI wants to be. The company is betting on three families: gallium nitride (GaN) power devices, such as the DRV7167 and the LMG series, designed for 48-volt, 1-kilowatt motor drives; C2000 real-time microcontrollers; and precision analog components. It also has dedicated reference designs for joints (TIDA-010979) and robotic hands (TIDA-010992).
On the perception side, TI announced in March a collaboration with NVIDIA to integrate its IWR6243 millimeter-wave radar sensor and real-time control technology into Jetson Thor, NVIDIA’s platform for robots. The goal is for humanoids to detect obstacles that cameras struggle to see, such as a glass door. Its customers already include Apptronik, maker of the Apollo humanoid, and the company has tested UBTECH’s Walker S2 robots on its own production lines. It isn’t alone: Analog Devices and Infineon are competing for the same ground in motor control and sensors.
The $500-to-$1,000 range invites comparisons with Tesla’s plans. The company announced, also on October 21, that it had started production of its Optimus robot in Fremont, though still in a ramp-up phase and with no unit figures given. But TI hasn’t said it supplies Tesla, and any revenue projection requires assuming it wins every component on every robot and that Elon Musk’s production targets — which have already slipped once with Optimus — are met. For now, humanoids remain a nascent market, as we’ve covered when looking at why the humanoid robotics industry is entering a real phase but isn’t yet at mass production.
Results driven by data centers
What is in the numbers is the pull of AI infrastructure. In the third quarter, TI reported revenue of $6.055 billion, up from $4.742 billion a year earlier, with net income of $2.425 billion, up 78%, and earnings per share of $2.62. According to the earnings call summary published by Yahoo Finance, the data center business grew close to 95% year over year and now accounts for around 13% of revenue, while the industrial segment hit a four-year high and automotive accelerated in China and the United States. The company already unveiled this month an ADC that catches nanosecond power faults in AI data centers.
For the fourth quarter, TI expects revenue of $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion and earnings per share of $2.45 to $2.79. Free cash flow over the past twelve months reached $8.422 billion and includes $1.6 billion in incentives under the US CHIPS Act, according to management.
Analog chip supply tightens
The other story in the earnings call is on the supply side. Management explained that global capacity for basic analog chips is tight, and that TI is using its own manufacturing to help customers facing supply problems. Analog prices rose slightly in the second half of 2026 due to rush orders and limited capacity outside China and Taiwan, and the company is already negotiating 2027 prices, leaning on its supply guarantees. More details will come in January. Some automotive customers have thin inventories, though the company insists the situation isn’t comparable to the pandemic’s widespread shortages.
TI arrives at this moment with some cushion. Its inventory days fell to 194 as it starts drawing down the stock it built up during the market downturn, and it expects to close 2026 with capital expenditure at the high end of its $2 billion to $3 billion range, conditional on back-end tools arriving on time, since their lead times are stretching out. Clean rooms are already built, so the company doesn’t see that as a structural bottleneck.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Texas Instruments chips does a humanoid robot carry?
The company estimates $500 to $1,000 in its own chip content per robot, mostly in power, motor control, and sensors. It’s an estimate of potential, not a sales figure.
How much did Texas Instruments earn in the third quarter of 2026?
$6.055 billion, up 28% from a year earlier, with net income of $2.425 billion.
Is there a shortage of analog chips?
TI says global capacity for basic analog chips is tight and prices have risen slightly, but it maintains the situation isn’t comparable to the pandemic-era shortage.
Does Texas Instruments supply chips to Tesla’s Optimus?
Not that’s been disclosed. TI hasn’t named Tesla as a customer; it does work with Apptronik and collaborates with NVIDIA on perception for humanoids.
Sources:
- Texas Instruments: Third-Quarter 2026 Results (Form 8-K, SEC)
- Yahoo Finance: Texas Instruments Incorporated Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
- 24/7 Wall St.: Tesla Will Make Millions of Optimus Robots. Texas Instruments Can Get Paid on Every One
- Crypto Briefing: Texas Instruments sees $500 to $1,000 chip content per humanoid robot
