The highlight of the 2026 Met Gala was not an outfit: it was a robot.

While a star-studded lineup walked the red carpet, dressed in outlandish attire and embracing a “Costume Art” theme, the talk of this year’s Met Gala was a humanoid robot accompanied by famous fashion designer Alexander Wang.

China-based AgiBot, in partnership with Wang, unveiled its full-size A2 humanoid to the world in style, walking alongside celebrities while sporting a “Real:ly” logo (Wang’s new tea-based energy drink line).

But why does this matter to Wall Street?

Well, KraneShares launched its humanoid robotics ETF, KOID, which seeks to capture the economic opportunity that was masterfully demonstrated by AgiBot at the Met Gala.

Humanoid Robotics ETF KOID & AgiBot

KraneShares has worked with AgiBot on multiple occasions to promote our humanoid robotics ETF KOID.

The first instance was in Milan. Paolo Iurcotta, Head of Italy, and Derek Yan, CFA, Senior Investment Strategist, hosted an event in Milan in March for around 30 clients. Derek gave a presentation on the humanoid robotics industry and our KOID ETF, accompanied by an X2 Ultra humanoid from AgiBot, which stands just over 4 feet tall.

The robot gave a speech in Italian and English, introducing the event and our humanoid robotics and physical AI ETF KOID. It also demonstrated its advanced motion capabilities by dancing to a mainstream global hit, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa, and a niche Cantonese pop song, “卡拉永遠OK” (Future Underworld Mix) by Alan Tam at the start and end of the event.

Following Milan, there was the annual CFA Society LA Outlook Dinner Panel, which had over 100 attendees. There, KraneShares and an AgiBot A2 humanoid equipped with US-based IntBot’s intelligence system greeted guests as they entered the event. Later, the A2 sat on a panel with 4 CIOs to share its 2026 market outlook, made possible by IntBot’s advanced software installed on the A2. Its outlook was met with applause and nervous laughter, taking many by surprise at just how far robotics has advanced.

The most recent collaboration between KraneShares and AgiBot was at our Nasdaq Technology Investor Day Event, where an A2 equipped with IntBot’s “brain” again sat on a panel to discuss the future of humanoid robotics. After the event, guests also had the opportunity to interact, ask questions, and test the humanoid’s language capabilities in Mandarin, Russian, and French (which it aced).

Both the CFA Society LA and the Nasdaq Technology Day panels and interactions highlighted the duality of the humanoid ecosystem and how the humanoid brain works in tandem with advanced hardware and movement systems.

How A Humanoid On The Red Carpet Benefits The Robotics Ecosystem

Behind the Met Gala spectacle is a serious economic story: humanoid robots are increasingly viewed as a potential answer to labor shortages, aging populations, and rising wage pressures across developed and emerging markets.

Not long ago, humanoids were mostly research projects performing carefully scripted demos. Today, they can navigate complex environments, interact with people, and operate in highly visible settings.

This rapid progress is being driven by improvements in artificial intelligence (AI), perception, motion control, and actuation, which are now converging to make humanoids more capable and commercially relevant.

For investors, the speed of that evolution suggests we are still early in a long technology adoption curve, where today’s flashy demonstrations foreshadow tomorrow’s widespread deployment.

Industry projections point to a sizable addressable market as more sectors adopt robots not only as tools, but as essential parts of their operating models. Morgan Stanley believes humanoids could have a nearly $5 trillion total addressable market globally by 2050.¹ That forecast assumes steady improvements in cost efficiency, mobility, and general-purpose AI.

The red carpet is just one, highly visible stop on a much longer journey of integration into everyday life.

That’s why KraneShares launched its equal-weighted humanoid robotics ETF, KOID, the KraneShares Global Humanoid Robotics and Physical AI Index ETF. With KOID, investors gain exposure to the humanoid robotics ecosystem, including the “brain” of the humanoid (semiconductors & technology), the “body” (actuation systems, mechanical systems, sensing & perception, critical materials), and humanoid “integrators” (the companies actually manufacturing humanoids).

Key Takeaways

The Met Gala appearance of a humanoid robot, side by side with Alexander Wang and global celebrities, underscores how quickly this technology is moving into the cultural mainstream.

That visibility supports the broader humanoid robotics ecosystem that KOID is built to track, from the components that power these machines to the companies aiming to deploy them at scale.

For investors, KOID provides a way to participate in the long‑term growth potential of humanoid and physical AI technologies as they move from red‑carpet novelty to everyday infrastructure.

As more real‑world use cases emerge and more high‑profile moments capture public attention, the structural trend behind KOID’s investment thesis may only grow stronger.

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For KOID standard performance, top 10 holdings, risks, and other fund information, please click here.

Citation:

1. “Humanoids: 1bn Robots and $5tn Revenues by 2050, China is in Pole Position,” Morgan Stanley Research, 4/28/2025.