A new market analysis from Credence Research predicts that the global “data center robotics” market will roughly double in size from an estimated $18.5 billion in 2024 to around $37.41 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual rate of about 9.2 percent.
What exactly is meant by “data center robotics”? According to the report, the term covers robotic systems deployed within large data centre facilities to assist with tasks such as hardware maintenance, transport of parts and components, inspection and monitoring of equipment, and other operational support functions.
For example, it highlights emerging use-cases for collaborative robots (cobots) that work alongside human technicians and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that navigate between racks and service zones.
The study argues this shift toward robotic automation is being driven by the rapid growth of hyperscale and edge-data-centre deployments, where human-led operations become increasingly costly, error-prone or logistically difficult.
It suggests that robotics offers the potential to streamline deployment cycles, improve uptime, reduce labour intensity and lower operational expenditure in data-centre environments.
Yet the market is still in its early stage. The report emphasises that robotics in data centres face unique challenges – dense rack layouts, high safety and reliability requirements, and integration with existing infrastructure – which means the full scale-up remains ahead.
It concludes that while hardware remains the largest segment today, software and services around robotic management, AI-enabled inspection, and remote monitoring are becoming increasingly important.
Basically, robotics for data centres is moving from conceptual experiments toward practical deployment, but considering the scale of modern server farms the opportunity is considered significant.
Industry watchers see this as a field to watch – not just because of the size of the market projection, but because the types of tasks inside data centres (maintenance, inspection, transport) bear striking resemblance to those in warehouses and logistics – domains where robotics has already proven value.
One may ask the question: if data center robotics is such a new market, how can it already be worth $18.5 billion? The answer likely lies in how analysts define “data center robotics”.
Reports such as the one by Credence Research appear to include a broad range of technologies under that label – not just autonomous mobile robots or robotic arms, but also sensors, actuators, software platforms for orchestration and control, and related integration and maintenance services.
In fact, Credence notes that the hardware segment accounted for about 47 percent of total market value in 2024. Still, given how few data centers currently deploy fully autonomous robots, the figure seems generous, and may reflect both early investment and future expectations bundled into the same forecast.
Main image: NTT training robots to become data center workers
