---
title: 'Humanoid — company profile'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/companies/humanoid'
type: 'company'
updated: '2026-07-02'
---

# Humanoid

> Humanoid builds commercially scalable, safe humanoid robots to automate labor-intensive industrial tasks in warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing.

- **Website:** https://thehumanoid.ai/
- **Type:** Private
- **Headquarters:** London, United Kingdom
- **Founded:** 2024
- **Founders:** Artem Sokolov
- **Total raised:** Approximately $30M self-funded by founder Artem Sokolov; a ~$200M Series A was in talks as of early 2026 (not closed)
- **Latest round:** Series A (in talks, ~$200M, no valuation set) as of February 2026
- **Investors:** Artem Sokolov (founder, sole shareholder)
- **Business model:** Robot-as-a-service: robots deployed under a managed subscription that bundles fleet-management software, maintenance, 24/7 support, over-the-air updates, and ongoing performance management, rather than one-off hardware sales.
- **Industries:** Manufacturing & Robotics
- **Open roles:** 74
- **Profile:** https://feeny.ai/companies/humanoid

## What they do

Designs and builds general-purpose humanoid robots (the HMND 01 platform) that automate physical industrial tasks like goods handling, picking and packing, and kitting, orchestrated by an in-house AI fleet framework called KinetIQ.

## Overview

**The London startup betting that wheels beat legs for robot work today**

Most humanoid companies are chasing a fully general-purpose biped with five-fingered hands. Humanoid made the opposite call. Its first product, HMND 01 Alpha, is a wheeled mobile manipulator built to do real warehouse and factory jobs now, not to demo a moonshot later.

Founded in London in 2024 by Artem Sokolov, the company moved fast enough to raise eyebrows: it took the wheeled robot from concept to working prototype in seven months, and had the bipedal version walking 48 hours after final assembly. It is already running proof-of-concept pilots with Schaeffler, Bosch, and Siemens. The bet is speed and practicality over sci-fi, and industrial customers used to multi-quarter integration cycles keep saying this one looks different.

## What They Do

**Robots that pick, pack, and haul so people do not have to**

Humanoid builds general-purpose humanoid robots for labor-intensive industrial work: goods handling, picking and packing, kitting, and part handling in warehouses, e-commerce fulfilment, and manufacturing lines. The pitch is that the world is already shaped for humans, so a human-shaped robot drops into existing facilities without the costly redesign a caged industrial arm demands.

The flagship HMND 01 stands about 175 cm, weighs 70 kg, walks up to 1.5 m/s, carries a 15 kg payload, and runs roughly four hours per charge. In a Schaeffler pilot the company says it hit 60 totes an hour at a 90%-plus success rate with 8-plus hours of uptime, which is the kind of number that separates a lab video from a line-ready machine.

## Problems

**Filling the jobs a shrinking, ageing workforce no longer wants**

Humanoid frames its market around a labor gap it did not invent. Warehousing, manufacturing, retail, and logistics all lean on physical, repetitive, sometimes dangerous work that fewer people want to do, and demographics are making it worse as birth rates fall and populations age.

Existing automation only goes so far. Fixed industrial arms and conveyors handle the structured, high-volume tasks, but the messy edge cases still fall to people. Humanoid's argument is that a mobile, dexterous, human-shaped robot can take those in-between jobs without anyone rebuilding the building around it.

### Problems addressed

- Chronic labor shortages in warehousing, manufacturing, retail, and logistics
- Repetitive, dangerous, and physically demanding tasks people increasingly avoid
- Tasks that fixed industrial automation cannot handle without costly facility redesign
- The demographic squeeze of an ageing, shrinking working-age population

## Who It's For

**Built for plant and logistics operators, not the living room yet**

The near-term customer is the industrial buyer: retail, e-commerce, third-party logistics, manufacturing, and automotive operations moving goods at scale. These are B2B deployments run alongside human workers on real production floors, which is why the early partners are names like Schaeffler, Bosch, and Siemens rather than consumers.

The company talks openly about a longer arc into services by 2029 and households by 2031, but that is roadmap, not product. Today the ideal user is an operations leader with tote-to-conveyor and pick-and-place work they cannot fully staff.

### Ideal customer profiles

- **Industrial operations leader** — Cannot fully staff repetitive physical roles; Needs automation that fits existing facilities without redesign
- **Logistics / warehouse manager** — High tote and box handling volume with labor gaps; Wants measurable throughput and uptime, not lab demos

## Products

**One platform, two bodies, and an AI brain to run the fleet**

Humanoid sells a modular platform rather than a single robot. HMND 01 comes in a wheeled Alpha built for industrial-grade reliability and low cost of ownership, and a bipedal Alpha aimed at tighter, more complex spaces. Both share exchangeable upper bodies, lower bodies, and end-effectors so one design can be tuned per use case instead of building a new robot each time.

Sitting above the hardware is KinetIQ, the company's VLM and VLA-based AI framework for orchestrating mixed fleets of wheeled and bipedal robots. The idea behind it is a real moat: a skill trained once can propagate across every robot in the field.

## Business Model

**Robots by subscription, not by the unit**

Humanoid is going to market with robot-as-a-service rather than one-off hardware sales. Customers get the robot plus fleet-management software, maintenance, 24/7 technical support, over-the-air updates, and ongoing performance management as a bundled, managed offering.

That model fits a machine that gets smarter after it ships and lowers the barrier for an operator wary of a large capital purchase. No public pricing exists yet; deals so far run through direct partnership and pilot agreements, and buyers request access through the company's sales team.

## Competition

**Racing Figure, Apptronik, and Boston Dynamics with a narrower first swing**

Humanoid enters a crowded, hyped field against far better-funded rivals building general-purpose humanoids for industry. Its edge is a deliberate one: start wheeled and industrial where the tasks are tractable and the ROI is closer, then generalize, instead of promising a do-everything biped on day one.

The other card it plays is people. Its engineering leadership is pulled from Boston Dynamics, Amazon Robotics, Brain Corp, Sanctuary AI, and others who have actually deployed robots at fleet scale, which is rarer in this space than the demo reels suggest.

### Their edge

- **Wheeled-first industrial wedge** — Deploys practical, revenue-relevant robots today instead of waiting on a fully general-purpose biped.
- **Modular platform** — Exchangeable bodies and end-effectors let one design serve many use cases and drive cost down.
- **Fleet-learning AI (KinetIQ)** — A capability trained once propagates across every robot in the field.
- **Deployment-proven team** — Leaders from Boston Dynamics, Amazon Robotics, Brain Corp, and Sanctuary AI who have shipped robots at fleet scale.

### Where they're betting

- Convert enterprise pilots (Schaeffler, Bosch, Siemens) into scaled paying deployments
- Ship a beta fleet and scale toward production 2026-2028
- Push modern robot learning: fleet learning, embodied agents, autonomy foundation models

## Proof

**Real pilots on real factory floors, with numbers attached**

Humanoid's traction is unusually concrete for a two-year-old robotics startup. It has completed live proof-of-concept runs with Siemens (tote-to-conveyor de-stacking), Bosch (moving boxes across five sizes from conveyor to trolley), and SAP with Martur Fompak, and signed a deployment deal with Schaeffler covering hundreds of robots over five years.

The Schaeffler arrangement goes deeper than a customer order: Schaeffler will also be a preferred supplier of joint actuators through 2031, and the two are co-developing the next generation. Reported pilot performance of 60 totes an hour at 90%-plus success is the kind of metric that turns a partnership into a purchase.

## What People Say

**Impressive speed, industry-wide doubt about the whole category**

The praise for Humanoid centers on pace. Building a working industrial humanoid in seven months and landing named enterprise pilots inside two years is fast by any measure, and the deep-deployment pedigree of its team gets noticed.

The skepticism is less about Humanoid specifically and more about the moment. Even at events meant to sell the technology, researchers question whether humanoids will take root soon, and some argue China has more momentum on hardware. The fair read: Humanoid is executing well inside a category that still has to prove its economics.

## Funding

**Self-funded to the starting line, now chasing a $200M round**

Humanoid's funding story is unusual. Founder Artem Sokolov has bankrolled the company himself, reportedly putting in around $30 million and remaining its sole shareholder, financing the first robots and three international offices out of his own pocket.

As of early 2026 the company was in talks to raise roughly $200 million in a Series A, with no valuation set and the round not yet closed. Treat that as intent, not a done deal. Sokolov funded it after selling his family's jewelry business, and he runs the venture builder SKL.vc on the side.

## Team & Culture

**A dense robotics team that moves at prototype-to-production speed**

Humanoid grew from nothing to roughly 160-plus people across London, Boston, Vancouver, and San Diego in about a year, recruiting from Boston Dynamics, Amazon Robotics, Sanctuary AI, Brain Corp, Yandex Self-Driving, Google, and Cloudflare. Founder Artem Sokolov previously scaled a family manufacturing business to a billion-dollar valuation and was an EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021; the CTO, Jarad Cannon, comes from turning robotics research into deployed systems.

The culture is high-urgency and hands-on, built around getting robots out of the lab and into customer facilities in days to weeks. It leans in-person: employees are expected in the office five days a week, with daily breakfast, catered lunch, and heavy use of AI-assisted engineering tooling as standard practice.

## Compensation

**Real base ranges, equity in every offer**

Humanoid discloses base salary ranges on some roles, and its engineering bands run wide, roughly $120,000 to $350,000 a year on disclosed US and UK positions, with a couple of named US roles landing around $150,000 to $200,000. A Canadian engineering role was posted on an hourly contract basis.

Equity is a consistent thread: nearly every job description offers stock options, framed as builders sharing in what they build. UK roles add fully funded private healthcare and an 8% total pension contribution; US roles add fully paid medical, dental, and vision plus a 401(k) with match.

## Security & Legal

**Trading as Humanoid, incorporated as SKL Robotics**

The company markets itself as Humanoid but the registered legal entity is SKL Robotics LTD, based in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters is 5 Merchant Square, London W2 1AY, with additional offices at 1 Broadway in Cambridge, Massachusetts and 6060 Silver Drive in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Public detail on data practices and compliance is thin at this stage, which is common for an early hardware company still moving from pilots to production. The clearest legal signal is the copyright footprint across the site, which credits SKL Robotics LTD.

## In the News

**From first robot reveal to a hundreds-of-units factory deal**

Humanoid has drawn steady industry press through 2026, most of it tracking its jump from prototype to signed pilots. The throughline: a UK startup punching above its funding weight with enterprise partners in Germany.

The most consequential coverage is the Schaeffler deal, which pairs a hundreds-of-robots deployment with a multi-year actuator supply arrangement, and the Forbes report on the founder self-funding the company while raising a Series A.

### Coverage

- [Schaeffler to deploy hundreds of Humanoid robots in its factories](https://www.therobotreport.com/schaeffler-humanoid-partner-build-deploy-hundreds-robots/) — The Robot Report (2026-01-13)
- [A Former Russian Jewelry Magnate's Humanoid Robot Startup Is In Talks To Raise $200 Million](https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2026/02/05/a-former-russian-jewelry-magnates-humanoid-robot-startup-is-in-talks-to-raise-200-million/) — Forbes (2026-02-05)
- [Humanoid partners with Bosch, Schaeffler to scale robot production](https://www.therobotreport.com/humanoid-partners-with-bosch-schaeffler-scale-robot-production/) — The Robot Report (2026-05-21)
- [Humanoid and Siemens proof of concept shows the way to industrial deployments](https://www.massrobotics.org/humanoid-and-siemens-proof-of-concept-shows-the-way-to-industrial-deployments/) — MassRobotics (2026)
- [U.K.-based startup Humanoid unveils HMND 01 Alpha mobile manipulator](https://www.therobotreport.com/u-k-based-startup-humanoid-unveils-hmnd-01-alpha-mobile-manipulator/) — The Robot Report (2025)
- [Humanoid completes live HMND PoC with SAP and Martur Fompak](https://www.therobotreport.com/humanoid-completes-live-hmnd-poc-sap-martur-fompak/) — The Robot Report (2026)
- [Inside Humanoid's plan to put a robot in every home](https://sifted.eu/articles/humanoid-robotics-alina-interview) — Sifted (2026)
- [Humanoid's 1,000+ Robot Deal with Schaeffler Hints At 100,000 Units By 2031](https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2026/05/13/humanoids-1000-robot-deal-with-schaeffler-hints-at-100000-units-by-2031/) — Forbes (2026-05-13)

## Outlook

**Can pilots turn into a paying fleet before the hype cools?**

Humanoid has done the hard early part well: a working robot, named enterprise pilots, and a deployment deal, all inside two years. The next chapter is harder, moving from proofs of concept to robots running reliably around the clock to strict SLAs, and closing a Series A to fund the scale-up.

The risk is the one hanging over the whole category. Humanoid robotics is still unproven economically, and even boosters are cautious. If Humanoid converts the Schaeffler and Bosch relationships into a paying fleet, its wheeled-first wedge looks smart. If the round stalls or the pilots do not scale, being early and fast will not be enough.

## Company details

- **Mission:** Empowering humanity by building the most reliable, safe, and helpful humanoid robots, freeing people from repetitive and dangerous work.
- **Products:** HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled, HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal, KinetIQ, Modular garments
- **Notable customers:** Schaeffler, Bosch, Siemens, SAP, Martur Fompak
- **Customer segments:** Retail, E-commerce, Third-party logistics (3PL), Manufacturing, Automotive
- **Buyers / users:** Industrial operations leaders, Logistics and warehouse managers, Manufacturing plant leadership
- **Competitors:** Figure, Apptronik, Boston Dynamics, Sanctuary AI, 1X
- **What sets them apart:** Wheeled-first, industrial-first wedge that deploys today rather than chasing a general-purpose biped first; Modular hardware platform with exchangeable upper/lower bodies and end-effectors; KinetIQ fleet-learning framework where a skill trained once propagates across every robot; Engineering leadership drawn from teams that have deployed robots at fleet scale; Fast integration into existing facilities, measured in days to weeks
- **Tech stack:** KinetIQ AI framework, Vision-language models (VLM), Vision-language-action models (VLA), Locomotion and whole-body control, High-torque actuators
- **Integrations:** Fleet management software, MES integration

## Open roles (74)

- [Employer Brand Manager](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/f4f911da-bd3c-49f3-a6b4-5db2c463ed90) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Functional Safety Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/2aa29ad5-ba32-4356-af31-9af6365696c9) — US Boston, MA
- [Software Engineer - Data & Reporting](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/6f447e3f-3229-4ac5-9ea6-651a414e2bf5) — US Boston, MA
- [Global Inventory & Warehouse Manager](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/1cee32ac-b6eb-4c1f-9c3b-74aeca188a72) — London, United Kingdom
- [HR Business Partner](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/bf934759-4815-4f64-bc8f-1b51879bb3fe) — London, United Kingdom
- [Global Logistics Manager](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/3a90d3e1-a2dc-4eb2-a9df-202eae8e6815) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Software Serviceability Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/35654693-cbd5-46a7-ab8e-a530187512fe) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior/Staff Software Engineer - Data Platform](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/37321a8d-6af6-4b18-9aa9-1be929133065) — London, United Kingdom
- [Mechatronics Remote Support Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/4b498bba-e364-428e-8849-8a3db341a42b) — London, United Kingdom
- [Staff Program Manager - Services Business Process Automation](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/86a1fde2-0ed6-4ee9-8e71-1cfbbe4ab7b7) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Electrical Serviceability Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/980d191a-adee-4055-a3f0-612d09d81227) — London, United Kingdom
- [Personal Brand Lead](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/14e434a0-465a-44a7-b8e4-a69bc8e522a2) — London, United Kingdom
- [IT Office Support Specialist](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/e959fe42-931b-47d8-bc21-4d54d4e60add) — Canada Vancouver, Canada
- [IT Office Support Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/9221e361-29d8-4791-8071-2fe73285f916) — US Boston, MA
- [Advanced Manufacturing Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/d89c7f2e-c6bd-4af7-9507-5516868d33a7) — London, United Kingdom
- [VLA Pre-training Engineer (Deep Learning)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/4d31f6af-23d8-4de8-88c2-e6f83fe79dd6) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior In-House Repair Technician](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/01385350-d4ef-404f-94c1-a2b593f67b97) — London, United Kingdom
- [Reinforcement Learning Engineer - Manipulation](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/4691579b-ff95-4f87-a72d-2fbc37d287fc) — London, United Kingdom
- [VLA Pre-training Lead (Deep Learning)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/db4d5a17-4f69-4ace-8aa7-86bcbc0b286f) — London, United Kingdom
- [Supplier Quality Assurance Manager](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/79875abe-4e0d-4b94-9364-f1d440f7ab50) — London, United Kingdom
- [VP of AI Transformation](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/f463d481-2aa5-422e-bc85-f525b918b16f) — London, United Kingdom
- [Software Engineer - Device Security & Identity](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/7d2cedfb-f2e6-4f01-99f8-6385d2d34a5f) — US San Diego, CA
- [Principal Product Cybersecurity Assurance Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/d51c3a27-08c4-469b-9676-ae86728259d7) — London, United Kingdom
- [VP of Partnerships - MENA](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/2c9a93b4-5b8e-406a-874f-41895f47c966) — Remote
- [Robotics Engineering Technician](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/5e4f8db3-b84f-424c-b8b7-d2ac18e01e50) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Manager - Warehouse, Inventory Logistics and Planning (WILP)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/465815e3-ae68-4f11-b65b-789f350abdcc) — London, United Kingdom
- [Deep Learning Engineer, World Models](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/be9a09e4-768e-474a-a0d9-391b327b0ccf) — London, United Kingdom
- [Mechanical Design Engineer - Robotic Hand](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/16204d81-380a-48c1-b866-160f6bfee0ca) — Canada Vancouver, Canada
- [Senior  Hardware Test Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/796b413b-ac09-4595-8651-6dab3ab30963) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Software Test Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/a1b6e0c7-1d1e-437d-957c-c82146f90bf3) — London, United Kingdom
- [Robotics Production Team Lead](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/dd47ff4b-d5db-4d55-a476-b8d48a93adf3) — London, United Kingdom
- [Robotics Test Engineer II](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/790a3b57-19da-4b83-9ab5-2f039e20aaf7) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Platform Software Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/bf4c34c3-541d-4497-8aa3-9fae8f82e396) — US Boston, MA
- [Business Capability Analyst — Back Office & Supply Chain](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/c205685d-2d31-4df1-93b8-eb8472fc66d3) — London, United Kingdom
- [ERP Functional Lead](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/81c81b60-a2db-4fc5-ad69-6294d4b41b31) — London, United Kingdom
- [Engineering Recruitment Lead (Physical AI / Humanoid Robotics)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/0d68a6e7-5e58-472e-ac4d-8307e769c708) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior DevOps Engineer - Safety Firmware](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/6e570f55-74e3-44fc-b60b-68a2575afcee) — US Boston, MA
- [Senior Embedded Software Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/5fcaf19a-4df5-4ff7-b948-c9413c7eb765) — Canada Vancouver, Canada
- [Staff AI Engineer, Robot Learning (Navigation)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/61d2bfba-c25e-4ccd-98ce-7e0961e81b82) — London, United Kingdom
- [Software Engineer - Data & Sensors](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/0604ab87-d57e-4a3f-ae79-d58b84a72d34) — London, United Kingdom
- [Finance Operations Lead](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/5a4eed85-daa1-4fc4-a487-96c9e16fc64b) — London, United Kingdom
- [Robotics Repair Centre Manager](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/559a9cb0-2c33-449e-9e43-a420b10d8ad2) — London, United Kingdom
- [Platform Engineer - Build & CI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/3d85b23e-1b2e-4125-8fe0-e44fb37757f5) — London, United Kingdom
- [Neural Network Performance Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/8e9baec3-4631-4788-8f10-cdf5934484dd) — London, United Kingdom
- [Simulation Engineer - Manipulation](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/2f7c8892-20b9-41e5-a34d-bffa1df349a3) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Actuator Mechanical Design Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/ee615697-ad60-424a-a10c-2bea9e4ec44a) — Canada Vancouver, Canada
- [Staff Controls Software Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/0d29a583-4d96-4210-85ac-96da998c67d3) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Robotics Test & Control Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/2e0c69d4-7ace-432d-baae-5d94dc77cf66) — Canada Vancouver, Canada
- [VP of Industrial Engineering](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/97be853c-df80-4be3-84c6-f0cdcf91d6dc) — London, United Kingdom
- [Senior Dev/ML Ops Engineer](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/9ed64980-46e9-44eb-83f7-fded700be4a3) — London, United Kingdom

_…and 24 more at https://feeny.ai/companies/humanoid/jobs_

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_Source: https://feeny.ai/companies/humanoid · profile updated 2026-07-02_