Dark Factories Global Market Report 2026

Dark factories are fully automated manufacturing facilities that function without human involvement and often in total darkness. These facilities depend entirely on robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and automated systems to carry out production processes. Their main objective is to enhance efficiency, lower labor costs, and support continuous, around-the-clock production with minimal interruptions.

The main types of dark factories include industrial robotics, additive manufacturing, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Industrial robotics involves the use of automated, programmable machines to carry out tasks within manufacturing settings. These technologies are implemented in both greenfield and brownfield projects and serve end-users across various industries, including automotive, pharmaceutical, aerospace, electronics, and others.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report's Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

Tariffs have influenced the dark factories market by increasing costs of imported robots, sensors, control systems, and industrial automation software. Greenfield automation projects are most affected, especially in asia pacific manufacturing hubs. Higher capital expenditure has impacted adoption timelines. However, tariffs are accelerating local automation ecosystems and domestic production of industrial robotics.

The dark factories market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides dark factories market statistics, including the dark factories industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with the dark factories market share, detailed dark factories market segments, market trends, and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the dark factories industry. This dark factories market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenarios of the industry.

The dark factories market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $54.64 billion in 2025 to $60.26 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to labor cost pressures, demand for operational efficiency, robotics technology maturity, quality consistency requirements, industrial automation investments.

The dark factories market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $88.12 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.0%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to AI driven manufacturing, shortage of skilled labor, 24 by 7 production demand, smart factory initiatives, cost optimization strategies. Major trends in the forecast period include expansion of fully automated manufacturing plants, rising use of industrial robotics and cobots, integration of IIoT and predictive analytics, growth of lights out production models, increased adoption of autonomous material handling.

The growing adoption of industrial robotics is expected to drive the growth of the dark factories market in the coming years. Industrial robotics involves the use of programmable, automated machines designed to execute manufacturing tasks with high precision and efficiency. This rising adoption is driven by the accuracy and reliability of robots, which ensure consistent quality and minimize human error in production processes. Industrial robotics supports dark factories by enabling fully automated operations, eliminating the need for human intervention, and ensuring precision, consistency, and continuous round-the-clock production. For example, in September 2025, according to the International Federation of Robotics, a Germany-based non-profit research and industry association, the total number of industrial robots in operational use worldwide reached 4,664,000 units in 2024, marking a 9% increase from the previous year, with approximately 542,000 new industrial robots installed globally in 2024. Hence, the increasing adoption of industrial robotics is propelling the growth of the dark factories market.

Leading companies in the dark factories market are developing cutting-edge technologies such as hyper-intelligent manufacturing platforms (HyperIMP) to achieve fully autonomous, continuous production with superior precision, efficiency, and minimal human intervention. A hyper-intelligent manufacturing platform is an advanced AI-driven system that combines automation, machine learning, and real-time data analytics to optimize, control, and autonomously manage manufacturing processes end-to-end. For instance, in August 2024, Xiaomi Corporation, a China-based electronics manufacturer, launched a next-generation smart factory in Changping. This facility operates around the clock without human workers or lighting by leveraging the HyperIMP platform. It integrates AI, IoT, and real-time analytics to enable self-monitoring, autonomous decision-making, and predictive maintenance, along with micron-level dust control and intelligent quality assurance systems to ensure high-precision, defect-free production.

In October 2024, Mpac Group plc, a UK-based packaging automation firm, acquired CSi Palletising for $60 million (€56 million). This acquisition boosts Mpac's end-of-line automation capabilities, expanding its portfolio of efficient robotic palletizing solutions across multiple industries. CSi Palletising, based in the Netherlands, specializes in industrial automation and robotic palletizing with extensive experience in dark factory environments.

Major companies operating in the dark factories market are Siemens AG, Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, Honeywell International, ABB Ltd, Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions, Bosch Rexroth, Rockwell Automation, Omron Corporation, Keyence Corporation, FANUC Corporation, Dassault Systemes, Autodesk, Yaskawa Electric Corporation, KUKA AG, Teradyne, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp, Staubli Robotics, Beckhoff Automation, Universal Robots, Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR), Denso Wave.

North America was the largest region in the dark factories market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the dark factories market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa

The countries covered in the dark factories market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The dark factories market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as continuous production, real-time quality control, predictive maintenance, inventory management, and automated packaging. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The dark factories market also includes sales of machine vision systems, digital twin platforms, remote monitoring systems, industrial sensors, and actuators. Values in this market are 'factory gate' values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

Dark Factories Market Global Report 2026 from The Business Research Company provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the market.

This report focuses dark factories market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the trends which will be shaping the market over the next ten years and beyond.

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Where is the largest and fastest growing market for dark factories ? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward, including technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer preferences? The dark factories market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.

The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, total addressable market (TAM), market attractiveness score (MAS), competitive landscape, market shares, company scoring matrix, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.

• The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market. This section also examines key products and services offered in the market, evaluates brand-level differentiation, compares product features, and highlights major innovation and product development trends.
• The supply chain analysis section provides an overview of the entire value chain, including key raw materials, resources, and supplier analysis. It also provides a list competitor at each level of the supply chain.
• The updated trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it evolves and highlights emerging technology trends such as digital transformation, automation, sustainability initiatives, and AI-driven innovation. It suggests how companies can leverage these advancements to strengthen their market position and achieve competitive differentiation.
• The regulatory and investment landscape section provides an overview of the key regulatory frameworks, regularity bodies, associations, and government policies influencing the market. It also examines major investment flows, incentives, and funding trends shaping industry growth and innovation.
• The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, and forecasting its development.
• The forecasts are made after considering the major factors currently impacting the market. These include the technological advancements such as AI and automation, Russia-Ukraine war, trade tariffs (government-imposed import/export duties), elevated inflation and interest rates.
• The total addressable market (TAM) analysis section defines and estimates the market potential compares it with the current market size, and provides strategic insights and growth opportunities based on this evaluation.
• The market attractiveness scoring section evaluates the market based on a quantitative scoring framework that considers growth potential, competitive dynamics, strategic fit, and risk profile. It also provides interpretive insights and strategic implications for decision-makers.
• Market segmentations break down the market into sub markets.
• The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth.
• Expanded geographical coverage includes Taiwan and Southeast Asia, reflecting recent supply chain realignments and manufacturing shifts in the region. This section analyzes how these markets are becoming increasingly important hubs in the global value chain.
• The competitive landscape chapter gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified.
• The company scoring matrix section evaluates and ranks leading companies based on a multi-parameter framework that includes market share or revenues, product innovation, and brand recognition.

Scope

• Markets Covered:1) By Type: Industrial Robotics; Additive Manufacturing; Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT); Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
• 2) By Deployment: Greenfield Projects; Brownfield Projects
• 3) By End-User: Automotive; Pharmaceuticals; Aerospace; Electronics; Other End-Users
• Subsegments:
• 1) By Industrial Robotics: Articulated Robots; Cartesian Robots; SCARA Robots; Cylindrical Robots; Delta Robots; Collaborative Robots (Cobots)
• 2) By Additive Manufacturing: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM); Stereolithography (SLA); Selective Laser Sintering (SLS); Electron Beam Melting (EBM); Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS); Binder Jetting; Powder Bed Fusion (PBF)
• 3) By Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): Smart Sensors; Asset Tracking and Management; Predictive Maintenance; Remote Monitoring; Industrial Cloud Computing; Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication; Edge Computing
• 4) By Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs): Automated Towing Vehicles (ATVs); Unit Load Automated Guided Vehicles; Automated Forklifts; Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs); Tow Tractors; Hybrid Automated Guided Vehicles
• Companies Mentioned: Siemens AG; Schneider Electric; Mitsubishi Electric; Honeywell International; ABB Ltd; Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions; Bosch Rexroth; Rockwell Automation; Omron Corporation; Keyence Corporation; FANUC Corporation; Dassault Systemes; Autodesk; Yaskawa Electric Corporation; KUKA AG; Teradyne; Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp; Staubli Robotics; Beckhoff Automation; Universal Robots; Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR); Denso Wave.
• Countries: Australia; Brazil; China; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Japan; Taiwan; Russia; South Korea; UK; USA; Canada; Italy; Spain.
• Regions: Asia-Pacific; South East Asia; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; South America; Middle East; Africa
• Time Series: Five years historic and ten years forecast.
• Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP proportions, expenditure per capita,
• Data Segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.
• Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.
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