Lootah Robotics Opens UAE's First Humanoid Robot Showroom on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road

The launch featured five humanoid robots giving presentations, dancing and playing football with children who had graduated from the company's own robotics academy. Lootah Robotics said more than 4,000 people watched a livestream of the opening.

The showroom is an early test of whether a retail market for humanoid and service robots can develop in the Gulf, where governments are setting robotics targets. Founder Yousif Al Lootah tied the venture directly to the Dubai Robotics and Automation Programme. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, launched the programme in 2022 with the aim of deploying 200,000 robots across the emirate by 2032 and raising robotics' contribution to Dubai's GDP to 9 per cent.

"Dubai has a vision to reach 200,000 robots by 2032, and we are a part of making that happen," Al Lootah told The National at the opening, adding that he expected the city to exceed that number.

The company held 28 robots at opening, with three more due on Saturday and another 16 the following week, Al Lootah said. The range goes beyond humanoids to cleaning and service robots, inspection robots and machines built for fire and safety systems, which he said are aimed at construction and oil and gas companies. Offices and a warehouse with more stock sit above the showroom floor.

Prices vary widely. Purchase prices run from Dh50,000 to Dh3 million, while rentals start below Dh5,000 and go up to hundreds of thousands of dirhams. "Some robots are the cost of a sports car, others a luxury car, and some an economical car," Al Lootah said. The company plans to sell to some customers and rent to others, and it had already sold humanoid robots to private buyers before the showroom opened.

Al Lootah said the business depends on more than hardware sales. Buyers also need programming, operation and maintenance services. He rejected concerns that the machines would take people's jobs, saying they would enhance human work rather than replace it.

The opening comes as global demand for humanoid machines rises from a low base. Worldwide humanoid robot shipments jumped 432 per cent in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier to nearly 25,000 units, with revenue above $740 million, according to International Data Corporation. Horizon Databook estimates the UAE humanoid market will grow at more than 40 per cent a year through 2033, from $7.4 million in 2025 to $156.8 million.

Officials have set a high bar for the country. At AI Everything 2026, Faisal Al Bannai, adviser to the UAE President and secretary general of the Advanced Technology Research Council, said he expected the UAE to become the largest deployer of autonomous vehicles and advanced robotics outside China within a year.

For Lootah Robotics, the next test is whether demand from companies in construction, energy and services grows beyond demonstrations. Its stock will grow to 47 robots by the end of next week.