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London Robotics Startup Humanoid Raises $152 Million Series A at $1.35 Billion Valuation

  • Writer: Shawn Jhanji
    Shawn Jhanji
  • Jul 22
  • 2 min read
Humanoid, a two year old London founded robotics company, has closed a $152 million Series A round at a $1.35 billion post money valuation, a jump that makes it Europe's first pure play humanoid robotics unicorn and one of the largest early stage rounds any UK deeptech company has closed this year. For UK founders and investors, the round is a reminder that capital for genuinely hard, capital intensive engineering is available in Britain when the traction is undeniable. Humanoid has raised $270 million in total in just two years, on the back of a wheeled humanoid robot, the HMND 01, that has already secured a 1,000 unit order from German industrial group Schaeffler and production capacity commitments from Bosch covering 100,000 units.

Humanoid, a two year old London founded robotics company, has closed a $152 million Series A round at a $1.35 billion post money valuation, a jump that makes it Europe's first pure play humanoid robotics unicorn and one of the largest early stage rounds any UK deeptech company has closed this year.


For UK founders and investors, the round is a reminder that capital for genuinely hard, capital intensive engineering is available in Britain when the traction is undeniable. Humanoid has raised $270 million in total in just two years, on the back of a wheeled humanoid robot, the HMND 01, that has already secured a 1,000 unit order from German industrial group Schaeffler and production capacity commitments from Bosch covering 100,000 units.


The round was led by US deeptech investor Prime Movers Lab, with Schaeffler, Bosch, Fubon Financial Holding Venture Capital and Aglae Ventures also participating. Strategic industrial backers taking a direct stake alongside financial investors points to a financing pattern increasingly common in hardware and robotics: the customer becomes the investor, reducing commercial risk at the same time as it provides capital.

Humanoid says the new funding will go towards its next generation humanoid platform, scaling commercial deployments, mass production of its wheeled robots and continued development of its KinetIQ artificial intelligence system, which controls how its robots perceive and act in industrial environments.


The unicorn framing is notable but contested. Other well funded European robotics ventures are chasing the same category, and the humanoid robotics field globally remains crowded with US and Chinese entrants backed by far deeper pools of capital. What sets Humanoid apart for now is commercial proof: real purchase orders and real manufacturing commitments from established industrial names, rather than demonstrations alone.


For a UK startup ecosystem that has long worried about its ability to fund capital intensive hardware and deeptech through to scale, a $152 million round staying in London rather than migrating to the US is itself a data point worth watching. Whether that pattern holds through Humanoid's next funding rounds, as the company moves from pilot orders to full scale production, will say more about the durability of Britain's deeptech financing base than any single headline number can.


Key Takeaways


  • Humanoid has raised $152 million in a Series A round at a $1.35 billion post money valuation, taking total funding to $270 million in two years.

  • The round was led by Prime Movers Lab, with strategic backing from Schaeffler and Bosch, both already customers of Humanoid's wheeled robot, the HMND 01.

  • Schaeffler has ordered 1,000 units and Bosch has committed production capacity for 100,000 units, giving the round unusually concrete commercial backing.

  • Humanoid is being described as Europe's first pure play humanoid robotics unicorn, a claim likely to be contested as rival European robotics ventures raise their own large rounds.

  • The deal is a signal that large, capital intensive deeptech rounds can still close in London rather than migrating to US investors.


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