The Humanoid HMND 01 is finally moving into volume production. Humanoid, the London-based robotics startup, has named Robert Bosch GmbH as its contract manufacturer. In fact, European factory demand is the key driver behind this move.
Specifically, the partnership follows a March 2026 trial at a Bosch intralogistics facility in Bühl, Germany. During the test, the HMND 01 autonomously moved boxes between a conveyor belt and a trolley. It handled five different sizes and weights without any human assistance. Indeed, both companies say the robot proved itself across a complex industrial workflow.
Humanoid HMND 01 Production: What the Bosch Deal Covers
Bosch applies a DfX (design for excellence) framework to HMND 01 production. In particular, this covers hardware design, production, supply chain management, and cost optimization. Furthermore, the partnership opens the door to integrating Bosch components — actuators, drives, and sensors — into future versions.
To that end, Bosch’s Peter Svejkovsky pointed to the company’s global manufacturing scale. “With our global infrastructure, we are the perfect partner,” he said. He added that the deal moves the robot from prototype to volume manufacturing.
The Bosch deal is also the second major partnership Humanoid has closed this month. On May 13, the company signed a binding agreement with Schaeffler Technologies. That deal targets a four-digit fleet of Humanoid HMND 01 units across Schaeffler’s global facilities by 2032. Additionally, Schaeffler will supply over 50 percent of Humanoid’s joint actuator demand through 2031. Humanoid and Schaeffler plan first deployments at two German sites between December 2026 and June 2027.
Artem Sokolov, Humanoid’s founder and CEO, called the deal a key milestone. “This agreement is a critical step in our roadmap,” he said. He described it as bridging the gap between proof-of-concept validation and large-scale deployment.
Humanoid sells through a Robot-as-a-Service model, bundling fleet management software, support, and maintenance. Currently, the Alpha HMND 01 carries a 10 kg total payload across two arms. The Beta version, rolling out at Schaeffler sites in late 2026, raises that to 20 kg. Ultimately, Humanoid targets a mass-production version for 2028.
