Top 7 AI humanoid companies transforming factories and homes
## 1. Figure AI Wikimedia Commons California-based Figure AI is developing general-purpose humanoids that can work inside factories before eventually expanding into homes.
Key takeaways
- In September 2026 a wave of high‑profile announcements underscored the rapid expansion of humanoid robotics.
- NVIDIA unveiled “SONIC,” an AI controller that converts VR, video and natural‑language commands into robot actions, promising to broaden the motion repertoire of humanoids, while related work on “touch‑dreaming” techniques lifted task‑success rates by over 90 percent earlier in the year.
- Goldman Sachs dramatically raised its market outlook, projecting shipments of roughly 6.5 million humanoid robots by 2035—a five‑fold jump from its previous estimate—and valuing the sector at about $138 billion.
- In China, the People’s Liberation Army allocated about $300,000 in June to collect and label sensor data for fielded robots, and Reuters reported that the PLA is urging researchers to accelerate the transition of commercial humanoids into combat roles.
- That push coincided with Xpeng’s release of a video on September 11 showing its IRON humanoid walking off an assembly line unaided, and a Chinese startup, JoyIn, claiming its “Aether” model, built on a perceptive‑control approach, can achieve a 90 percent first‑attempt success rate—a claim it says mirrors OpenAI’s technology.
1. Figure AI
Wikimedia Commons
California-based Figure AI is developing general-purpose humanoids that can work inside factories before eventually expanding into homes.
Its latest Figure 03 robot is powered by Helix, an embodied AI system that converts visual information and natural-language instructions into physical actions.
Figure has already demonstrated its technology on an active BMW production line rather than limiting it to carefully arranged demonstrations.
Figure 02 loaded more than 90,000 components, accumulated over 1,250 operating hours, and contributed to the production of more than 30,000 vehicles.
2. AgiBot
Wikimedia Commons
Founded in Shanghai in 2023, AgiBot has quickly emerged as one of China’s largest producers of embodied AI robots. The Hyundai-owned company is now transforming Atlas from an experimental platform into a commercially useful manufacturing robot. It is also working with Google DeepMind on AI capabilities, while Hyundai plans to introduce production versions of Atlas at its factories.
Humanoid robots still have work to do
Despite their rapid progress, today’s humanoids cannot match people at handling unpredictable situations or completing varied tasks without assistance. Specialized industrial robots can also perform many structured factory operations faster, more reliably, and at a lower cost. Apptronik has secured commercial agreements with Mercedes-Benz and logistics company GXO while partnering with Google DeepMind to integrate Gemini-based intelligence.
The company has also raised more than $935 million, giving it substantial resources to improve Apollo and establish large-scale manufacturing operations.
7. Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics has spent decades developing robots capable of performing movements that once appeared impossible for machines.
Its fully electric Atlas humanoid combines powerful actuators, flexible joints, advanced perception, autonomous mobility, and hands designed to manipulate objects inside industrial environments.
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