The archive · Hardware & Devices · Strategic decision · 2024–2026
Humanoid's wheeled-robot bet: $152M Series A makes it Europe's first humanoid unicorn
London's Humanoid, founded 2024, bets wheeled industrial robots plus Bosch and Schaeffler scale it to unicorn in two years.
Humanoid (SKL Robotics)
What the business is
Humanoid builds wheel-based humanoid robots for logistics, manufacturing and retail, pairing its HMND 01 hardware with a proprietary AI system, KinetIQ, that lets robots reason about and execute physical tasks.
Starting capital：€236M ($270M) total raised as of the July 2026 Series A, which was led by Prime Movers Lab with Schaeffler, Bosch, Fubon Financial Holding Venture Capital and Aglaé Ventures participating.
How it started
Artem Sokolov founded Humanoid in London in 2024 with the thesis that Europe could build globally competitive humanoid robotics, focusing on labor shortages in manufacturing and logistics rather than consumer robots.
What happened
Humanoid completed a proof of concept with Bosch at its logistics centre in Bühl, Germany, where HMND robots handled boxes from multiple conveyors, then signed a manufacturing agreement for Bosch to produce HMND 01 robots for the European market. It separately agreed with Schaeffler on what EU-Startups called the largest publicly announced commercial agreement in the industry, covering thousands of robots, and listed SAP, NVIDIA, Bosch and Siemens among its partners before the Series A.
How it ended up
Still running and scaling: after the July 2026 round Humanoid planned beta-version robots at customer facilities in Q4 2026, mass manufacturing of its wheeled robots and further development of KinetIQ toward a general-purpose industrial robot.
Background
Humanoid, founded in London in 2024 by Artem Sokolov, is betting that wheeled industrial robots can reach volume faster than the bipedal humanoids dominating US and Chinese headlines. Its HMND 01 robots handle logistics and manufacturing tasks, controlled by a proprietary AI system called KinetIQ, and the company kept both hardware and software in-house.
The strategy turned industrial partners into co-owners of the scaling problem. After proof-of-concept tests at Bosch's Bühl logistics centre, Bosch agreed to manufacture HMND 01 robots for the European market. Humanoid also signed what EU-Startups called the industry's largest publicly announced commercial agreement, covering thousands of robots for Schaeffler, and listed SAP, NVIDIA and Siemens among its partners.
In July 2026 Prime Movers Lab led a €133M ($152M) Series A at a €1.1B ($1.35B) valuation, with Schaeffler, Bosch, Fubon Financial Holding Venture Capital and Aglaé Ventures participating, taking total funding to €236M ($270M) and making Humanoid Europe's first pure-play humanoid-robotics unicorn two years after founding. The company planned beta robots at customer facilities in Q4 2026 and mass manufacturing next.
What has to be true
- A legible contrarian bet: wheeled humanoids for factories now, rather than general-purpose bipeds, with industrial giants as partners.
- A dated arc with sources: founded 2024, Bosch proof of concept and Schaeffler agreement in early 2026, $152M Series A at $1.35B in July 2026.
- Named, verifiable numbers: €236M raised, $152M Series A, €1.1B post-money valuation, thousands of robots under the Schaeffler agreement.
- The outcome is concrete: Europe's first pure-play humanoid-robotics unicorn, still pre-mass-production with beta rollout planned for Q4 2026.
What can be applied
The wedge is not a better robot but a credible volume path: signing manufacturers as customers, investors and production partners compresses the years between prototype and mass deployment.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-02 Humanoid is pre-revenue and pre-mass-production: robots completed proof-of-concept work at Bosch, Bosch signed on as contract manufacturer for the European market, Schaeffler is committed to large-scale deployment, and the company is working toward beta robots at customer facilities in Q4 2026. The open question is whether the manufacturing agreements convert into reliable volume production and real deployments, which the beta rollout is expected to test.
Sources
- New Unicorn! Humanoid secures €133 million at €1.1 billion valuation to scale industrial robotics and physical AI
- Humanoid raises £114m and gains unicorn status
- Bosch signs robotics deal with UK firm
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