1X struck a deal to send its ‘home’ humanoids to factories and warehouses - TechCrunch
This deal involves shipping up to 10,000 1X Neo humanoid robots between 2026 and 2030 to EQT’s more than 300 portfolio companies with a concentration on manufacturing, warehousing, logistics and other industrial use cases.
Key takeaways
In early December 2025, several major developments signaled rapid progress in the humanoid‑robot sector. AGIBOT announced the rollout of its 5,000th mass‑produced humanoid robot, highlighting improvements in stability, reliability and durability that aim to meet a broader range of industrial needs. A contemporaneous intelligence report warned that China is poised to dominate the global humanoid‑robot race, citing its leadership in patent filings and projecting eventual deployments of hundreds of millions of units to offset demographic decline. In the United States, Google DeepMind partnered with Apptronik to showcase a home‑use humanoid capable of performing everyday chores such as loading a dishwasher and storing groceries, demonstrating the fusion of high‑quality hardware with foundation‑model AI for general‑purpose tasks. Chinese firm Unitree released dramatic footage of its larger H2 humanoid engaging in kick‑boxing‑style combat, revealing new teleoperation capabilities and advanced hands that broaden functional scope. Meanwhile, startup 1X secured a partnership with EQT to supply up to 10,000 “Neo” home‑type humanoids to the investor’s portfolio companies for manufacturing and logistics applications beginning in 2026. In Europe, Italy’s Generative Bionics raised €70 million ($81 million) to fund its first production plant and to prepare a full‑scale humanoid for a CES 2026 debut, reinforcing expectations that the humanoid market could exceed €200 billion by 2035. Together, these announcements underscore accelerating commercialization, expanding applications from factories to households, and intensifying geopolitical competition in the race to deploy billions of humanoid robots in coming decades.
This deal involves shipping up to 10,000 1X Neo humanoid robots between 2026 and 2030 to EQT’s more than 300 portfolio companies with a concentration on manufacturing, warehousing, logistics and other industrial use cases.
1X will sign individual deals with each of EQT’s interested portfolio companies, 1X confirmed to TechCrunch. # 1X struck a deal to send its ‘home’ humanoids to factories and warehouses
Rebecca Szkutak
1X found some big potential buyers for its humanoid robots designed for consumers — the portfolio companies of one of its investors.
The robotics company announced a strategic partnership to make thousands of its humanoid robots available for EQT’s portfolio companies on Thursday. EQT is a large Swedish multi-asset investor, and its venture fund EQT Ventures, is one of 1X’s backers. Humanoids also come with potential safety issues around pets and small children due to their size and instability. Multiple VCs and scientists in the robotics field told TechCrunch this summer that humanoid adoption wouldn’t be for multiple years if not a decade away.
The company declined to share how many pre-orders it received for its Neo bot but a spokesperson said pre-orders “far exceeded” the company’s goal.
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