A very serious guide to buying your own humanoid robot butler - New Scientist

What’s on offer?

It is fair to say the humanoid robot business has a buzz about it. More than 40 new models were unveiled by companies worldwide in 2025 alone, 60 per cent of which were from China, according to data collated by Morgan Stanley. That’s partly thanks to the rise of powerful artificial intelligence systems that help the robots function – indeed, investor and tech analyst Cathie Wood has called humanoid robots the biggest opportunity for AI to enter our lives. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview last year that, in the future, “you’ll be walking down the street, and there’ll be seven robots walking past you, doing things”. Cryptocurrency investor Andrew Kang has said that “2026 will be the year of humanoid robots”. But things are changing. Last year, machines ran, boxed and even played football at China’s World Humanoid Robot Games, albeit sometimes falling over in the process. Meanwhile, companies have been readying their own range of humanoids that promise to do something a bit more useful: help around the house. At the tail end of last year, robotics company 1X opened preorders for its NEO robot, with deliveries expected this year – a crucial milestone. And with several other companies also now offering humanoid assistants for sale, we are finally living in a world where you can essentially buy yourself a robot butler. There are options out there for a few thousand pounds, less than the price of a small second-hand car.