Robotics company 1X has identified several potential buyers for its humanoid robots designed for consumers. This is a portfolio company of one of our investors.
The company announced Thursday a strategic partnership to make thousands of humanoid robots available to EQT portfolio companies. EQT is a leading Swedish multi-asset investor and its venture fund EQT Ventures is one of 1X’s backers.
The agreement includes shipments of up to 10,000 1X Neo humanoid robots between 2026 and 2030 to more than 300 EQT portfolio companies focused on manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and other industrial applications.
1X plans to enter into separate agreements with each of EQT’s interested portfolio companies, 1X confirmed to TechCrunch.
This partnership is particularly interesting because 1X’s Neo is marketed as a personal humanoid robot and is tagged as “the first consumer-facing humanoid robot designed to transform life at home.” Unlike 1X’s peers such as Figure, it is not sold as a bot for commercial purposes.
1X has Eve Industrial, a robot designed for industrial use, but this contract specifically involves neo-humanoids.
When the company began taking pre-orders for the $20,000 robot in October, its announcements focused on how the robot would operate inside someone’s home, from describing the various chores the robot could perform and how it would interact with people.
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This transaction is a completely different use case.
This is probably because humanoid robots for home use will be difficult to sell for a while, while industrial use cases will be easier to sell. The $20,000 price tag also automatically limits the potential consumer base.
Neo also incorporates privacy elements that are unacceptable to many people. A 1X human operator can see into someone’s home through the robot’s eyes.
Due to their size and instability, humanoids can pose safety issues around pets and small children. Multiple venture capitalists and scientists in the robotics field told TechCrunch this summer that the adoption of humanoid robots will take years, if not a decade.
The company declined to release pre-order numbers for Neobot, but a spokesperson said pre-order numbers “far exceeded” the company’s goals.
Founded in 2014, 1x has since raised more than $130 million in venture capital from companies such as EQT Ventures, Tiger Global, and OpenAI Startup Fund.
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