The HMND 01 is the wheeled industrial humanoid from Humanoid, a London-based startup and Europe’s first pure-play humanoid robotics unicorn. Humanoid closed a $152 million Series A at a $1.35 billion valuation on July 21, 2026. Bosch is signed on as a contract manufacturer, and Schaeffler has a binding deal for a four-digit fleet.
The HMND 01 rolls on wheels, not legs, and that choice is deliberate. No ISO safety certification currently covers bipedal humanoids for industrial deployment in Europe, while wheeled robots can be certified. The robot has already completed live factory trials at Ford, Siemens, Bosch, and Martur Fompak. This Robot of the Week breakdown covers the company, the wheels, the specs, the trials, and the deals.
Watch: HMND 01 Robot: Europe’s $1.35 Billion Humanoid Bet | Robot of the Week
Who Is Humanoid, the Company Behind the HMND 01?
Humanoid is a London-based robotics startup founded in 2024 by Artem Sokolov, and it built the HMND 01 Alpha in seven months.
Seven months is the fastest development cycle ever recorded for a humanoid robot, per the company. The team numbers around 200 engineers, with alumni from Boston Dynamics, Apple, Tesla, Google, Sanctuary AI, and NVIDIA.
On July 21, 2026, Humanoid closed a $152 million Series A at a $1.35 billion valuation, bringing total funding to $270 million. Prime Movers Lab led the round, with participation from Schaeffler, Bosch, Fubon Financial Holding Venture Capital, and Aglaé Ventures. Schaeffler and Bosch matter most on that list, because both are also Humanoid’s industrial partners. The round sits in our humanoid robotics funding tracker.
Why Is the HMND 01 on Wheels Instead of Legs?
Humanoid put the HMND 01 on wheels because wheels are more energy efficient, give the robot greater reach, and can be safety-certified for industrial work in Europe.
The wheeled base is a deliberate strategy, not a compromise. There is currently no ISO safety certification that covers bipedal humanoids for industrial deployment in Europe. Wheels can be certified. Bipedal cannot.
Humanoid’s chief product officer, Sotirios Stasinopoulos, made the same case to Forbes in July. He estimated that a wheel-based platform covers 85 to 90 percent of industrial use cases, and he expects CE certification for the HMND 01 in 2027. The safety standard that would cover walking robots in industry, ISO 25785-1, is still in draft, with publication expected in 2026 or 2027.
That gap is a regulatory moat most people are not talking about. Legs are an engineering problem. Certification is a sales problem. Humanoid solved the sales problem first.
HMND 01 Specs: Height, Payload, and Battery Life
The HMND 01 Alpha stands about 7 feet 2 inches tall on a wheeled base, carries a bimanual payload of about 33 pounds, and runs up to 4 hours per charge.
| Specification | HMND 01 Alpha |
| Height | About 7 feet 2 inches (220 cm) |
| Base | Wheeled |
| Payload | About 33 pounds (15 kg), bimanual |
| Degrees of freedom | 29 |
| Battery life | Up to 4 hours |
| Top speed | About 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h) |
| AI platform | KinetIQ, proprietary |
| Compute | NVIDIA |
Bimanual means the robot lifts with both arms at once, the way a person carries a tote. Four hours of battery covers half of an eight-hour shift, so charging rotation and fleet software matter as much as the hardware. The full spec card sits in the HMND 01 Alpha directory profile.
How KinetIQ Runs an HMND 01 Fleet
KinetIQ is Humanoid’s proprietary AI platform, and it handles end-to-end orchestration for fleets of HMND 01 robots.
KinetIQ works in four layers, per Forbes. A fleet coordinator pulls tasks from a factory’s warehouse or ERP software and assigns each task by robot location, battery charge, and gripper type. A vision-language model breaks each task into checkable steps. Humanoid’s own model executes the steps, and a whole-body controller moves the robot.
Where Has the HMND 01 Worked So Far?
The HMND 01 has completed live factory trials at Ford, Siemens, Bosch, and automotive supplier Martur Fompak, operating without human intervention.
| Partner | Site | Result |
| Siemens | Electronics factory, Erlangen | 60 totes per hour, over 8 hours of continuous uptime |
| Ford | Innovation Centre, Cologne | 83 picks per hour against a target of 50 |
| Martur Fompak | Automotive supplier plant | Tasks pulled directly from SAP’s AI agent |
| Bosch | Intralogistics site, Bühl | Boxes moved from conveyor to trolley |
The HMND 01 integrates into existing warehouse software instead of running on a custom controller. At Martur Fompak, SAP’s AI agent sent work orders straight to the robot. That is production performance, not a controlled demo.
What Have Bosch and Schaeffler Signed With Humanoid?
Bosch is signed on as the HMND 01’s contract manufacturer, and Schaeffler has a binding deal targeting a four-digit fleet across its global facilities.
Bosch builds the robot through its subsidiary Robert Bosch Robotics GmbH, and Humanoid plans to build several hundred units with Bosch in 2027. Schaeffler’s first deployments land at two German sites between December 2026 and June 2027, under a robot-as-a-service model. Schaeffler also supplies more than 50 percent of Humanoid’s joint actuator demand through 2031.
As of September 9, 2026, CEO Artem Sokolov had confirmed to Forbes that Humanoid holds more than 34,000 nonbinding preorders, representing roughly $2.4 billion in pipeline. The company targets production of 150,000 units in 2030. With Bosch manufacturing, and Siemens, Ford, and Schaeffler in the ecosystem, Humanoid has an industrial supply chain that most software-first humanoid startups can only dream about.
Can Investors Buy Into Humanoid?
Humanoid is a private company, so the closest listed link to the HMND 01 is Schaeffler, which trades in Frankfurt under the ticker SHA0.
Schaeffler is an investor, a supplier, and a customer of Humanoid. The German company is also an early customer of Agility’s bipedal Digit and a backer of NEURA Robotics. Schaeffler is not picking a winner. Schaeffler is buying exposure to every form factor. Public-market options across the category sit in our robotics ETF tracker, which covers 11 funds.
Digit, T-800, HMND 01: Does a Humanoid Need Legs?
The HMND 01 is the first robot in the Robot of the Week series to roll on wheels instead of walking on legs.
The Agility Digit breakdown showed a humanoid can hold a warehouse job. Last week, the EngineAI T-800, the Chinese humanoid with combat-grade torque and a price point that is turning heads, showed one can take a hit. Every robot in the series this month has been American or Chinese. The HMND 01 is the reminder that Europe is not sitting this one out.
Next week the series heads back to the United States with the Phantom MK1 by Foundation. The Phantom MK1 has already been deployed to an active war zone, holds Pentagon contracts across the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and may be the most strategically important humanoid robot in the world right now.
Humanoid HMND 01 FAQ
What is the HMND 01?
The HMND 01 is a wheeled industrial humanoid robot built by Humanoid, a London-based startup founded in 2024 by Artem Sokolov. The robot carries about 33 pounds with both arms and runs on Humanoid’s KinetIQ AI platform.
Why is the HMND 01 wheeled instead of bipedal?
Wheels are more energy efficient, give the robot greater reach, and can be safety-certified. No ISO safety certification currently covers bipedal humanoids for industrial deployment in Europe.
Where has the HMND 01 been tested?
The HMND 01 has completed live factory trials at Ford, Siemens, Bosch, and Martur Fompak. At Siemens, the robot moved 60 totes per hour with over 8 hours of continuous uptime.
When will HMND 01 robots work in real factories?
Schaeffler’s first HMND 01 deployments are scheduled at two German sites between December 2026 and June 2027. The rollout is part of a binding deal for a four-digit fleet.
Can you invest in Humanoid?
Not directly. Humanoid is private and was valued at $1.35 billion after its July 2026 Series A. Schaeffler, a Frankfurt-listed investor, supplier, and customer of Humanoid, is the closest public-market link.
Key Takeaways on the Humanoid HMND 01
Humanoid built the HMND 01 Alpha in seven months and reached a $1.35 billion valuation two years after its founding. The robot rolls on wheels because wheels can be certified for European industry and bipedal robots cannot. The HMND 01 stands about 7 feet 2 inches, carries about 33 pounds, and has completed live trials at Ford, Siemens, Bosch, and Martur Fompak.
Bosch builds the robot, Schaeffler has committed to a four-digit fleet, and 34,000 nonbinding preorders point to roughly $2.4 billion in pipeline. The 150,000-unit target for 2030 is the number to watch. The Robot of the Week series continues next week with the Phantom MK1 by Foundation.
For full technical specifications, visit our HMND 01 Alpha Directory Profile.
Disclaimer
The Robotic Life provides informational coverage of humanoid robotics companies and industry developments. Nothing in this article constitutes investment advice. Readers considering financial decisions based on humanoid robotics companies should consult a qualified financial advisor.
Sources
- Humanoid, HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled product page
- Humanoid, Series A announcement (July 21, 2026)
- Humanoid, Schaeffler deployment and supply agreement (May 13, 2026)
- Humanoid, Bosch manufacturing partnership (May 21, 2026)
- Humanoid, Siemens proof of concept
- Humanoid, Ford Cologne proof of concept (January 20, 2026)
- Humanoid, SAP and Martur Fompak proof of concept (March 30, 2026)
- Forbes, Humanoid’s Series A and the case for wheels (July 21, 2026)
- Forbes, Artem Sokolov on preorders and production targets (September 8, 2026)
- ISO, ISO 25785-1 draft safety standard
- Schaeffler, investor relations share page
