London Robotics Startup Humanoid Raises $152 Million at a $1.35 Billion Valuation
Founded only last year, the company has Bosch as a contract manufacturer and Schaeffler as an investor. Its wheeled robot is already being tested at customer sites.
Key points
- Humanoid raised $152 million in a Series A round, reaching a post-money valuation of $1.35 billion.
- The London-based company has raised $270 million in total since founding in 2024.
- Robert Bosch GmbH will manufacture Humanoid's robots under a contract production agreement.
- Schaeffler AG, a German industrial firm, joined the round as both investor and commercial partner.
- Humanoid plans to roll out its Beta robot to paying customers in the fourth quarter of 2026.
A London-based robotics startup called Humanoid, founded in 2024 under the original name SKL Robotics Ltd., has closed a $152 million Series A round. That's the first major outside investment a startup raises after its seed money. The deal values the company at $1.35 billion before the fresh cash lands.
First reported by The Robot Report, the round brings total fundraising to $270 million in roughly two years.
The company makes the HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled: two arms on a wheeled base that can move around a warehouse and handle objects, currently available for early-access testing at customer sites. A legged version is in development.
The robot runs software called KinetIQ, a control system that coordinates fleets of machines. A module called KinetIQ Ascend lets robots learn from trial and error, the way a person improves a task by practising it.
Two names in the investor list stand out. Robert Bosch GmbH signed on as contract manufacturer, meaning Bosch factories will build the robots at scale, and will also provide consulting on hardware design and supply chain. Schaeffler AG, known for bearings and precision components, is both a financial backer and a commercial customer.
What does this mean for workers on a factory floor?
Not much changes this week. Humanoid's robots are still in early trials, and the Beta model won't ship broadly until late 2026. Logistics, manufacturing and retail are the sectors named first for pilots. The company frames the robots as tools to fill labour gaps rather than direct replacements, though that framing will be tested once deployments move beyond controlled trials.
When we covered Agility Robotics opening a humanoid training facility in California on 17 July 2026, the gap between press releases and paid deployments was already the central question for the sector. It still is.
Humanoid is entering a crowded field. Germany's NEURA Robotics recently opened a Series C targeting $1.4 billion. Apptronik closed a $520 million Series A in February 2026. Agility Robotics went public via a SPAC merger, a stock-market listing that uses a shell company, raising $620 million in June 2026.
Capital is still concentrated at early investment stages, which tells you the industry is moving from lab prototypes to factory pilots but hasn't reached mass deployment. Watch whether Bosch's manufacturing partnership accelerates Humanoid's timeline or introduces the kind of supply-chain friction that has slowed rivals. That's the detail the next funding announcement won't mention.
