Humanoid’s New Deal: Bosch Will Build Its Robots With Schaeffler Parts - Forbes
Humanoid, the UK-based robotics company founded by Artem Sokolov in 2024, announced today that Bosch will manufacture its HMND 01 robots for the European market.
Key takeaways
Boston Dynamics unveiled new footage showing its Atlas humanoid robot lifting and placing a mini‑fridge and even a loaded washing‑machine‑size load, emphasizing advances in whole‑body control and AI‑driven manipulation for industrial work. At the same time, Figure AI streamed a marathon of its warehouse‑type humanoids sorting more than 30,000 packages over 24 hours, highlighting endurance and public interest in long‑duration operation. Industry analysts at IDTechEx reported that humanoid robots are moving from prototype to early commercial deployment, projecting shipments of 1.8 million units by 2036 and payback periods as short as six months in high‑utilisation scenarios. Apptronik secured a spot on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list, noting a $5 trillion market potential by 2050 and a pilot program integrating its Apollo robots into Jabil’s production lines. In Europe, the UK‑based Humanoid company announced a binding partnership with Bosch and Schaeffler to manufacture its HMND platform, with plans to roll out over a thousand units at Schaeffler sites and eventually scale to 100 000 robots by 2031. Meanwhile, Chinese firms are expanding government‑backed humanoid training centers to teach robots workplace skills, and Shanghai‑based Agibot claimed a 39 % global market share, crossing 10 000 cumulative units and offering robots‑as‑a‑service in more than 17 countries. All of these developments indicate a rapid shift from demonstrations toward real‑world, revenue‑generating deployments across logistics, manufacturing, and beyond.
Humanoid, the UK-based robotics company founded by Artem Sokolov in 2024, announced today that Bosch will manufacture its HMND 01 robots for the European market. The manufacturing deal follows a successful March 2026 proof-of-concept at a Bosch logistics facility, where Humanoid’s robots autonomously moved boxes across five different sizes, weights and footprints from conveyors to trolleys. The two companies are also exploring integration of Bosch actuators, drives, and sensors into future HMND versions. Add this to what Humanoid announced just six days ago — Schaeffler’s components as a key part of the HMND humanoid robot, a plan to deploy more than 1,000 robots at Schaeffler facilities, and scaling component purchases to support delivery of upwards of 100,000 robots by 2031 — and the picture clarifies. Humanoid is taking a different path than 1X and other humanoid robotics manufacturers, like Figure, that are maximizing vertical integration.
First, it’s Euro-centric, with European component providers and manufacturers. It’s worth noting that Humanoid has also announced deployments and projects with Siemens and SAP. “For Humanoid, this agreement is a critical step in our roadmap, bridging the gap between POC validation and large-scale deployment,” he said in a statement. “Our goal has always been to shorten the path between innovation and real-world integration, and this agreement reflects that approach. Together with Bosch, as a strong strategic manufacturing partner, we are committed to bringing humanoid robots into industrial settings, scaling their deployment, and accelerating adoption across logistics, manufacturing, and beyond.”
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