Qualcomm Bets Big on Robotics, Beginning With This Bendy-Backed Humanoid - CNET
To demonstrate what this tech is capable of, Qualcomm has partnered with Vietnamese robotics company Vinmotion on the Motion 2 robot -- a general-purpose humanoid. In a video posted to YouTube last week, Vinmotion gave a hint of what the robot was capable of.
Key takeaways
Boston Dynamics announced a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind at the CES 2026 press conference, aiming to accelerate the development of the next‑generation Atlas humanoid by integrating DeepMind’s foundational AI models and improving its ability to interact naturally with people. Hyundai, which now owns Boston Dynamics, confirmed that the newly produced Atlas units will be shipped to its Savannah, Georgia plant for initial deployment in repetitive assembly tasks, with broader rollout in its factories slated to begin in 2028 and more complex work by 2030. CES 2026 also showcased a wave of new humanoids: AMD‑backed Generative Bionics unveiled Gene.01 for industrial shipyard use; LG demonstrated its CLOiD robot handling laundry chores; Zeroth Robotics released the $2,899 M1 home‑assistant robot for seniors; and Qualcomm introduced its Dragonwing IQ10 platform powering Vinmotion’s Motion 2 robot, which can punch through wood, pick up objects and bend its torso. Meanwhile, a report from analyst firm Omdia highlighted China’s rapid expansion in humanoid production, with companies such as AGIBOT, Unitree and UBTECH collectively shipping over 13 000 units in 2025—almost six times the global total a year earlier. In the UK, startup Humanoid compressed a typical 18‑month hardware cycle to seven months, delivering an HMND 01 alpha prototype that combines bipedal research platforms with wheeled industrial variants, leveraging NVIDIA’s Isaac simulation tools and Jetson‑based edge compute. All of these developments point to a breakout year for physical AI, with industry leaders positioning humanoid robots for both factory floors and consumer markets.
To demonstrate what this tech is capable of, Qualcomm has partnered with Vietnamese robotics company Vinmotion on the Motion 2 robot -- a general-purpose humanoid. In a video posted to YouTube last week, Vinmotion gave a hint of what the robot was capable of. It showed the Motion 2 punching through a piece of wood, crouching down to pick up a small teddy bear off the floor and bending its back in a way that most people older than 30 could only dream of doing.
Qualcomm also says it's already partnered with other companies, including Figue.ai, which makes humanoids it calls the "future of home help," Advantech, APLUX, Autocore, Booster Robotics and Robotech.ai. Tech
Qualcomm Bets Big on Robotics, Beginning With This Bendy-Backed Humanoid
A new wave of humanoids are coming. Qualcomm is ready to power them.
Katie Collins Principal Writer
Katie is a UK-based news reporter and features writer. Officially, she is CNET's European correspondent, covering tech policy and Big Tech in the EU and UK. Unofficially, she serves as CNET's Taylor Swift correspondent. You can also find her writing about tech for good, ethics and human rights, the climate crisis, robots, travel and digital culture. She was once described a "living synth" by London's Evening Standard for having a microchip injected into her hand.
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It might be a little early to declare 2026 the year that robots went mainstream but at CES in Las Vegas this week, we're starting to see signs that the biggest companies in tech are taking robotics more seriously than ever before.
Qualcomm kicked off the show Monday morning by announcing a full suite of robotics technologies, designed to power everything from small household robots to full-sized humanoids. It's calling this full-stack architecture, which integrates hardware, software and AI, the Dragonwing IQ10 Series.
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