Ex-Tesla Scientist Launches European Humanoid Robot Startup - Let's Data Science
A Europe-first humanoid vendor shifts the operational and integration priorities AI and robotics teams must weigh, including local regulation, industrial workflows, and demonstration-driven learning pipelines.
Key takeaways
- The most recent coverage of humanoid robots shows a surge of breakthroughs and commercial launches.
- In South Korea, Holiday Robotics announced a record‑breaking 155 billion‑won Series A round to accelerate its manufacturing‑focused wheeled humanoid “FRIDAY,” a 176 cm, 115 kg platform with 64 degrees of freedom, tactile sensors and autonomous‑driving capabilities, aiming to ship roughly 1,000 units per year by 2027.
- In the United States, 1X unveiled a new hand for its Neo home robot that matches or exceeds human performance, featuring 25 actuated degrees of freedom, tendon‑driven motion, force‑transparent low‑gear ratios and IP68‑sealed tactile fingertips, allowing tasks such as pouring tea, sorting grapes and sign‑language communication.
- Apptronik opened its expanded Robot Park in Austin, a data‑collection facility for training its Apollo humanoid robots in partnership with Google DeepMind.
- AGIBOT rolled out the A3 humanoid in Europe, introduced a UK robot‑as‑a‑service model, and celebrated the production of its 15 000th unit, the G2 industrial‑grade robot.
A Europe-first humanoid vendor shifts the operational and integration priorities AI and robotics teams must weigh, including local regulation, industrial workflows, and demonstration-driven learning pipelines. Business reporting shows that UMA, a Paris-based startup led by Rémi Cadène, unveiled a lightweight humanoid called Northstar and a learning architecture named Real-Time Learning at the Machina Summit, according to BusinessWire. Electrek and The Next Web report Cadène previously worked on Tesla's Autopilot and Optimus and later led the open-source LeRobot effort at Hugging Face. Electrek and The Next Web say UMA emerged from stealth in December 2025, is talking to about 50 potential customers (Electrek/Bloomberg), and lists investors including Greycroft and angel backers such as BusinessWire reports that UMA, a Paris-based physical AI company, unveiled the design of its first humanoid and introduced Real-Time Learning, "a learning architecture that enables robots to acquire new skills through demonstration rather than manual programming," at the Machina Summit. Electrek and The Next Web report UMA's humanoid, called Northstar, is being developed for manufacturing plants, warehouses, logistics centers, and eventually homes, and that the company emerged from stealth in December 2025. Electrek reports founder Rémi Cadène said UMA is already talking to about 50 potential customers. The Next Web and Electrek list backers and advisers including Greycroft, Red River West, Kima Ventures, and angel supporters such as Yann LeCun and Thomas Wolf; Electrek additionally names View 2 more sources
- 04Ex-Tesla scientist Rémi Cadene unveils plans for European humanoid robotmoneycontrol.com
- 05Ex-Tesla Optimus scientist unveils European humanoid robot startupelectrek.co
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