Humanoid Robot Developer 1X Targets $1 Billion in New Funding
The Takeaway
- 1X is developing a soft-sided humanoid for help in the home
- The Norwegian-founded robotics startup wants to raise up to $1 billion
- Previous investors include OpenAI, Sweden’s EQT
Humanoid robotics startup 1X has told investors and employees it is trying to raise as much as $1 billion, according to three people who spoke to CEO Bernt Øivind. The decade-old company is aiming for a valuation of at least $10 billion, Børnich said, or more than 12 times its previous valuation from a January financing, according to one of the people.
The move comes as large firms such as Tesla, Amazon and OpenAI develop their own hardware or software for humanoid robots in homes or factories, and several other humanoid startups raised capital despite little to no revenue. That list includes Figure AI, which this month said it had $1 billion in commitments to invest at a $39 billion valuation.
It isn’t clear whether 1X has started to generate any revenue from sales of its robots and whether it will succeed in its funding efforts. It could also end up raising a smaller amount. It’s discussed raising money from existing investor EQT Ventures, the venture arm of Swedish investment manager EQT AB, one of the people said.
A representative from 1X declined to comment.
The humanoid robot developers are relying on newfound artificial intelligence, similar to the type developed by OpenAI for chatbots. 1X has used OpenAI models for voice capabilities and is developing its own AI model, called Redwood, that it trained on its robots’ actions.
1X, founded in Norway as Halodi Robotics, in February announced a new robot, Neo Gamma, that has a soft exterior and can squat down to pick up things from the ground or sit in chairs, a feat that other humanoids such as Tesla’s Optimus are also trying to achieve.
The startup has done some initial trials in the San Francisco area and plans to have the robot in a few hundred or thousand homes by the end of this year, Øivind has said. One challenge with developing robots for homes is guaranteeing their safety, such as making sure they don’t fall and crush a nearby toddler or pet.
Most humanoid robots also don’t operate autonomously all the time. In some demonstrations of Neo Gamma earlier this year, a remote technician controlled the robot’s hands and voice.
The company has also developed a two-wheeled robot called Eve that it tested in a Norwegian hospital.
1X has raised more than $100 million from OpenAI’s Startup Fund, EQT Ventures and Tiger Global Management. It moved from Norway to Palo Alto, Calif., this summer to hire top talent and “foster even closer collaboration with our partners and investors.”
The valuation it is seeking would be far higher than a previously unreported financing in January that valued the company at about $820 million, said one of the people who spoke to the CEO.