Humanoid robotics is moving from polished demos toward warehouse contracts. Figure says Catalyst Brands will begin deployment in Reno, inside a retail network that includes JCPenney, Aéropostale, and Brooks Brothers.
Figure AI's 03 humanoid robot worked continuously for over 30 hours without any breaks. The footage underscores the widening capability gap between human and robotic labor in industrial environments.
Figure AI's Helix-02 humanoid robot completed a full 8-hour autonomous package-sorting shift on May 13, processing packages at the same 3-second-per-item rate as human workers with zero human resets.
A mysterious moment during Figure AI's Figure 03 humanoid robot livestream — where the robot abruptly stops — went viral on r/singularity with over 3,500 upvotes. Viewers debated whether it showed teleoperators changing shifts or an internal AI model transition.
Chinese embodied AI startup Vbot raised $73M in Pre-A funding led by Oriental Fortune Capital to expand production and develop full-size humanoid robots. Having shipped 500 AI robot dogs, the company targets 2,500+ monthly units by June 2026.
Chinese humanoid robot startup Robotera raised over $200M led by SF Group, with Alibaba, IDG Capital, Lenovo, and Haier participating. The company has begun delivering 1,000 units across 10 logistics centers operated by China Post and SF Group in Q2 2026.
UK-based Humanoid on May 13 signed a binding phased deployment agreement with Schaeffler to place up to 2,000 wheeled humanoid robots across global manufacturing sites by 2032, starting with two German plants in late 2026.
Chinese robotics company Unitree has unveiled the GD01, the world's first mass-produced manned mecha. A human pilot can board and operate the large-scale robotic suit - the first time the science fiction concept has crossed into commercial mass production.
Carnegie Mellon University and the Bosch Center for AI developed HTD (Humanoid Transformer with Touch Dreaming), which trains robots to anticipate future tactile signals. Across five dexterous real-world tasks, HTD achieved 90.9% higher success rates over vision-only baselines.
A Morgan Stanley research note projects China's humanoid robot output will expand its global manufacturing share from 15% to 16.5% by 2030, with Unitree Robotics targeting up to 20,000 units this year — echoing China's earlier dominance in EVs.
South Korea's first autonomous humanoid robot has converted to Buddhism, sparking broad discussion across robotics, AI, and religious communities about the intersection of artificial intelligence and faith.
Meta closed the acquisition of Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI) on May 1, targeting the $5 trillion humanoid robotics market with an Android-style strategy: own the AI layer, let manufacturers build the machines.