10,000 Humanoids: 1X Technologies and EQT Announce Industry's Massive Rollout Plan

For a long time, the idea of a humanoid robot felt like something from a distant science fiction movie – perhaps a helper in your home, baking cakes or folding laundry. Norwegian robotics firm 1X Technologies even captured imaginations with videos of their NEO robot doing just that. But now, they've signed a deal that isn't about domestic bliss; it's about a massive industrial transformation.

1X Technologies has announced a groundbreaking partnership with EQT, a colossal Swedish private equity firm. Think of EQT as a giant investment company that owns hundreds of businesses around the world, from factories to hospitals to logistics centers. And now, EQT decides to roll out up to 10,000 of 1X's humanoids across these businesses between 2026 and 2030. This isn't just news; it's a turning point for the entire humanoid robotics industry.

The Superpower Strategy: Why 10,000 Robots?

This deal isn't about replacing people, but about giving them "superpowers," as EQT's leaders have stated. Across the globe, businesses are struggling with labor shortages and facing repetitive, often dangerous, tasks that human workers don't want to do.

This is where NEO steps in. EQT's goal is to introduce these robots into critical industries like manufacturing, logistics, facility management, and even healthcare. Imagine a factory where robots handle heavy lifting, a hospital where they deliver medical supplies, or a warehouse where they sort endless packages autonomously. By taking on the dull, dirty, and repetitive jobs, NEO can free up human employees to focus on more skilled, creative, and fulfilling work.

The Evolution of NEO: From Beta to Business

Just a month ago, 1X debuted NEO, a bipedal humanoid that represents the Gamma series, an updated platform optimized for consumer development. The main objective of NEO is to accelerate the development of general-purpose embodied intelligence by strategically deploying safe, autonomous humanoids within unstructured consumer environments.

Humans and Robots: Learning Together

The partnership focuses on a "human-in-the-loop" strategy because robots aren't yet 100% autonomous for every complex task. When NEO is unable to complete a certain task, 1X uses Expert Mode where 1X human operator will intervene with the owners' permission, guiding NEO through the task remotely.

This feature has stirred up a bit of a storm in the tech world. Critics and tech influencers, including notable voices like MKBHD, have raised concerns about the risks of teleoperation.

The controversy centers on privacy and "the dream vs. reality":

• The Privacy Risk:
  Since a human operator is seeing what the robot sees, critics worry about a "stranger in the room" (even if it's a virtual one).
• The Autonomy Debate:
  Some argue that relying on remote pilots is a "crutch" that slows down true AI development.

1X has responded by doubling down on transparency. 1X claims that they are able to setup geofence in the software where it restricts NEO's accessibility to some areas in the house, or even blur the user's faces in the video feed. They also argue that this is a necessary learning pipeline for NEO. Every time a human guides a NEO, the data is used to train Redwood AI, 1X's proprietary AI model. By the time 10,000 robots are deployed to homes and factories, they will have "learned" from thousands of human hours, making them more autonomous every single day.

A New Chapter for Humanoids

This partnership isn't just a win for 1X Technologies; it's a huge validation for the entire humanoid robotics industry. While other companies, like Figure AI with Figure 03 or Agility Robotics with Digit, are building their own deployment strategies, 1X is leveraging the vast network of a financial giant. By partnering with EQT, 1X has secured a direct pathway to scale, proving that the future of robotics isn't just about building amazing machines – it's about finding smart ways to put them to work. The era of the industrial humanoid has truly begun.