Robotics news: humanoids and embodied AI
Large models help robots understand scenes and instructions. Humanoid and embodied-AI news from Tesla Optimus, Figure, Unitree and others, with sources.
- Open source
NVIDIA Releases Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B
NVIDIA released the open-source small language model Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B, post-trained from Gemma 4 E4B. Optimized for RTX and Jetson platforms, it requires about 4GB of VRAM and targets local voice agents, game characters, and robots.
- Research
Intel Releases Robotics Readiness Gap Report
Intel released a report analyzing the gap between corporate strategies and actual readiness for deploying embodied AI robots, outlining a five-dimensional framework to help close this gap and improve operational output.
- Policy
Intel receives waiver to protect chip fabs from US robot ban
Intel secured a waiver in response to a potential US ban on foreign-made robots. The company stated that these robotic vehicles are crucial for US chip production, aiming to protect the domestic supply chain.
- Products
Hikrobot Launches New AI-Powered Logistics Robots
Hikrobot launched its 'Mingzhi' series of intelligent robots and full-chain logistics solutions on October 23. The new products, powered by AI and machine vision, aim to solve automation challenges in internal logistics by reducing task chain distances and increasing throughput in storage and picking scenarios.
- Funding
DeepSec Secures RMB 10B Funding for Embodied AI
DeepSec completed a funding round of approximately RMB 10 billion, partnering with Perfect World and other industrial investors. The doubled raise signals its heavy investment in embodied intelligence.
- Models
Amap releases full-body foundation model λ0
Amap, under Alibaba Group, released λ0, its first full-body foundation model based on open-world behaviors. The model aims to advance robotics from local learning to full-body action alignment, enhancing generalization in complex environments.
- Policy
IDC: US humanoid robot revenue to drop 58% by 2030 due to FCC rules
IDC research indicates that the FCC's listing of foreign robots on the Covered List will reduce US humanoid robot market revenue by 58% by 2030. The policy may push Chinese manufacturers to pivot toward Europe and affect the US domestic robotics industry.
- Funding
Chinese AI tennis robots secure multi-million dollar funding on Kickstarter
At least four AI ball robots developed by Chinese teams raised million-dollar funding on Kickstarter over the past year. Pongbot raised $2.65 million with a high overfunding rate, while SwitchBot's Acemate secured $1.8 million in 30 days. This highlights the commercialization potential of AI hardware in vertical markets, prompting discussions on product definition and technical challenges.
- Products
inDrive, Pony.ai, and NVIDIA to Test Robotaxis in Central Asia in 2027
inDrive plans to test Pony.ai's robotaxis in Kazakhstan's capital in early 2027, partnering with NVIDIA. This marks the service's official entry into the Central Asian market.
- Other
Window-cleaning robots get first industry standard
The window-cleaning robot market is expanding rapidly, with global shipments growing nearly 60% annually and significant market growth in China. The industry has established its first standard, focusing on safety for high-altitude operations to address consumer concerns about product reliability.
- Funding
Ex-OpenAI Product Head Raises for Warp Sciences
Kevin Weil, former product head at OpenAI, founded Warp Sciences, a medtech startup combining AI and robotics. The company completed a $215 million Series A round led by Lightspeed at a $865 million post-money valuation. Warp Sciences aims to accelerate drug discovery using AI technology.
- Products
Fujisoft Launches Physical AI Robotics Package
Fujisoft and Daewoong have co-developed a Physical AI Starter Package for collaborative robots, lowering the barrier to entry. The solution will begin formal order acceptance in January 2027, aiming to accelerate physical AI adoption.
- Products
Eiliko Hires Security Firm After Vulnerabilities
The Eiliko AI chat charm was found to have security vulnerabilities, allowing hackers to access full conversation transcripts. Following media reports, the manufacturer announced it is hiring an independent security firm to assess and improve product security.
- Other
Supply chain analysis: Who supplies embodied data to OpenAI?
QbitAI published an analysis of the embodied intelligence (Physical AI) supply chain. The report explores which companies are entering the core global supply chain and providing training data to OpenAI and others. This highlights the importance of data resources in the embodied AI sector and integration trends.
- Research
Tsinghua-backed firm applies world models to robots
A Tsinghua-backed company has advanced world model research, with its latent variable identifiability approach predating similar work by LeCun by a year. The technology focuses on physical laws and cross-embodiment reuse rather than visual prediction, and has been applied to robotics.
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