Want a robot to greet you at the door? The future may be here - USA Today
## Is this robots’ iPhone moment? Until now, most humanoid robots have lived in a familiar loop: flashy concept demos, breathless promises, and vague assurances that they’ll change everything someday. CES was filled with them.
Key takeaways
Humanoid robots have moved from laboratory demos to commercial pilots in early 2026, with several high‑profile announcements converging at CES 2026 and across the global market. At the show, Boston Dynamics unveiled a production‑ready version of its Atlas platform and revealed a partnership with DeepMind’s Gemini Robotics AI to boost perception and task execution, while Hyundai, its parent company, pledged to manufacture up to 30 000 units annually by 2028 and to field Atlas in high‑precision sequencing by that year. In parallel, Figure AI’s Figure 02 units have already completed 10‑hour shifts on BMW’s X3 line, supporting 30 000 vehicles and handling 90 000 sheet‑metal parts, and the company secured a billion‑dollar Series C round in September 2025. Tesla’s Optimus remains in an early R&D phase, with training at the Austin Gigafactory still limited to simple tasks. Funding momentum has accelerated dramatically: Apptronik raised $520 million in a valuation‑exceeding‑$5 billion round that includes Google, B Capital, Mercedes‑Benz and the Qatar Investment Authority, positioning the company to mass‑produce its Apollo humanoid at an estimated $80 000 per unit and to target $1 billion in orders by 2027. The same funding wave placed Apptronik among the top three globally funded humanoid firms, alongside Figure AI, after a separate $935 million raise reported in February 2026. Chinese makers are showcasing humanoids as entertainment stars for the Lunar New Year, with Unitree, Agibot, Galbot, Noetix and MagicLab performing on CCTV’s gala and preparing IPOs, while Unitree’s 16‑robot dance troupe from the 2025 gala attracted millions of viewers. New design directions are also emerging. Fauna Robotics introduced Sprout, a compact, safety‑first humanoid built for homes, schools and retail, emphasizing natural movement and trust in human‑shared spaces. Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics demonstrated Atlas performing a backflip combined with a cartwheel, underscoring rapid advances in dynamic locomotion. Finally, researchers at NUS and SMART reported a neural‑blueprint that endows soft‑robotic systems with human‑like intelligence, a breakthrough that could extend to future humanoid platforms for more adaptable, real‑world operation.
Is this robots’ iPhone moment?
Until now, most humanoid robots have lived in a familiar loop: flashy concept demos, breathless promises, and vague assurances that they’ll change everything someday. CES was filled with them. Faraday, by contrast, says these machines are ready to roll and ready to ship.
What do Faraday’s robots do?
“We’re going to be the first U.S. company able to deliver real robotics products to users,” said Chris Chen, co-CEO of FF AI-Robotics. “People remember the first. Apple delivered smartphones to the market. Tesla delivered EVs. We’re doing that for robots.” TECH
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Want a robot to greet you at the door? The future may be here
Jennifer Jolly
Special to USA TODAY
Feb. 4, 2026Updated Feb. 5, 2026, 3:23 p.m. ET
For more than a decade, Faraday Future has described its electric vehicles as something more than cars – rolling computers packed with sensors, software, and artificial intelligence. Now the embattled EV maker is taking that idea to its literal conclusion.
Faraday Future just unveiled three robots under a new division called FF AI-Robotics Inc. There’s a full-size humanoid designed for public and commercial spaces, a smaller humanoid for home and multiuse, and a quadruped robot for security, inspection, and educational settings. The company says the robots will begin delivery in late February. A former airline operations executive, Alcedo left his job last fall to go all-in on robotics. He says interest is real, even if the technology is still early.
“Right now, these are like the first version of the iPhone,” he said. “You could make calls, but there were no apps yet. That’s where humanoid robots are today.”
Still, people are buying. Since August, Alcedo says Youmanoids has sold about 60 quadruped robots and roughly 10 humanoid robots, primarily from Chinese manufacturers. Prices typically range from about $5,000 for quadrupeds to $20,000 for humanoids. Buyers include families, hobbyists, schools, and event organizers – people willing to pay for novelty, experimentation, or early access.
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