There’s a new player in humanoid robotics, this time from the UK. Also, Mentee Robotics just unveiled its next-generation humanoid and China’s ENGINEAI is teasing what looks like a Robocop villain.
Artem Sokolov founded the London based startup, aptly called Humanoid, in 2024. Humanoid has a staff of more than 70 employees. The team includes engineers from Agility Robotics, Sanctuary AI, Boston Dynamics, Apple, and Dyson.
“At Humanoid, our team believes in a future where humans and machines work side-by-side, not in competition, but in harmony,” the founder said in a press release. “This societal shift will address social issues such as workforce shortages and aging population while giving people more freedom to focus on more creative and meaningful work.”
It’s entering the scene as the British government scrambles to catch up in the global AI race. The United Kingdom is fast tracking its Plan for Change initiatives to accelerate AI development amidst ongoing and intense debate on balancing innovation and safety.
Humanoid calls itself the first AI and robotics company in the UK, aiming to create the world’s leading, commercially scalable, and safe humanoid robots. That’s debatable, as Engineered Arts was founded in Cornwall over 20 years ago.
However, the company restructured last year as a US entity as it aims to commercialize its desktop humanoids, especially its world-famous android, Ameca. Humanoid’s focus is also broader, aiming to address tedious tasks in industrial and household settings, while Engineered Arts androids are currently not mobile.
The startup’s website describes the founder as a global investor and entrepreneur who grew his family business to a $1 billion capitalization. He’s also a founder and general partner at venture builder SKL.VC, which focuses on business to consumer startups. Sokolov’s LinkedIn profile lists his location as Dubai.
The founder says he was inspired by his grandparents’ repetitive work at the family-owned Russian jewelry company Sokolov. In a blog post, he said he observed that their work was very repetitive and monotonous. His grandparents rarely experienced the world outside their production floor.
“Even as a child, these working conditions and monotonous work seemed unfair to me,” he wrote. “I knew I wanted to do something about it. This experience planted the seeds of a vision that would eventually lead me to found Humanoid.”
Humanoid says its mission is to create scalable, safe, and advanced humanoid robots to seamlessly integrate into daily life.
The startup just released a hype video teasing its first robot, simply called the HMND-01. The company describes it as a “next-generation labor automation unit for providing highly efficient services across use cases and industries.”
According to Humanoid, the bipedal robot stands 175 cm (5 feet 9 inches). It weighs 70 kg (154 lbs). It walks at a brisk pace of 1.5 m/s. Humanoid says its first robot has strong and fast actuators for high-speed movements.
The startup says its self-developed model-based and learning-based locomotion and whole body control systems enable the humanoid to navigate confined spaces.
The robot has a modular design, with bipedal and wheeled lower body options displayed on Humanoid’s website. Humanoid says the robot runs for 4 hours before needing a recharge.
The startup also plans to offer a range of exchangeable garments that can be tailored to use case. The clothing is meant to protect the robot’s hardware and minimize contamination.
The startup boasts the robot’s payload capacity of 15 kg (33 lbs). That’s slightly less than the load carried by leading Chinese industrial humanoid, the UBTECH Walker S1, while walking on a treadmill. Another Chinese humanoid robot, the Kepler Forerunner K2, can reportedly carry 15 kg in each hand.
The British humanoid’s reported 41 degrees of freedom (DoF) is relatively advanced compared to modern bipedal robots. Chinese robotics firms tend to emphasize DoF more than their Western counterparts. XPeng’s Iron humanoid, for example, boasts 60 DoF, while Fourier’s GR2 has a reported 53 DoF.
Reactions to the teaser were mixed. Some appreciated the aesthetic and expressed enthusiasm about the future of robotics. Others were skeptical because the promo was reliant on computer graphics. And of course others worried it’s coming for their jobs.
MentooBot V3.0
Israel-based startup Mentee Robotics also has a brand new teaser.
The robotics firm, launched in 2022, says the third iteration of its flagship humanoid, the Mentee Bot, features custom-built actuators with three times more power than its predecessor. The humanoid also has enhanced torso mobility and up to 30 NM of pinch force per finger.
Standing 175 cm, the V3 MenteeBot has a reported payload capacity of 25 kg and 40 DoF. The promo also boasts the MenteeBot’s fisheye side camera for 360-degree views and hot-swappable battery packs.
Mentee Robotics employs simulation to reality technology by Nvidia to train its humanoids. A design that appears to be the MenteBot V3.0 appeared on stage during Nvidia founder Jensen Huang’s keynote at CES 2025 in Las Vegas.
The MenteeBot can complete complex tasks from verbal commands to execution. Last year, Mentee demonstrated the humanoid’s ability to assist the handicapped grocery shopping.
ENGINEAI S2
The buzzy Chinese robotics startup ENGINEAI is teasing its latest creation. The Shenzen-based robotics firm updated its website to promote its upcoming S2, which the startup calls an original IP service robot.
The design was briefly showcased in an early an ENGINEAI hype video from 2024. The visual implies it shares components with Engine’s humanoids, including the hip and shoulder joints.
The design features smooth, rounded edges, implying a focus on safety. Chinese text on its arm translates to “China engineering.”
The aesthetics pair well with ENGINEAI’s humanoid robots, the SE01 and its downsized variant, the PM01. Engine plans to manufacture a thousand of its humanoids by the end of 2025.
Both AI-powered robots have recently gone viral for their shockingly human-like walking gaits. The bipedal locomotion is achieved through and end to end neural network, reinforcement learning, and Nvidia digital twin technology.
The new robot’s design shares conceptual similarities with the second most popular robot in Robocop. This is fitting since ENGINEAI’s PM01 has been recruited by the Shenzhen police department. According to Chinese state media, it’s part of an experimental project merging artificial intelligence and law enforcement.
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