.jpg)
To mark a major moment for 1X Technologies, we hosted a launch celebration together with Alliance, EQT, and Sandwater as 1X opened orders for its groundbreaking humanoid robot, NEO. The announcement sparked immediate attention well beyond the robotics community, signalling a pivotal shift in how people think about consumer robotics.
1X officially opened pre-orders for NEO, offering early-access units priced at $20,000 or an alternative subscription at $499/month with first deliveries expected in 2026 and broader international expansion planned thereafter.
The launch wasn’t only a product debut: it was a symbolic leap from robotics being seen as future tech to something real people and businesses are ready to test, adopt, and build with today.
It was especially inspiring to see the energy and curiosity across the Norwegian startup ecosystem, where early movers rushed to secure their own NEO robots as soon as ordering went live. As media outlets such as Shifter reported, many were quick to overlook the price tag and compete for early access, reflecting strong excitement about robotics adoption
The broader robotics landscape is rapidly evolving. Interest from major industrial and investment communities continues to grow. For example, private equity giant EQT recently announced a collaboration framework with 1X to explore deployment of up to 10,000 humanoid robots across its portfolio companies, emphasising knowledge sharing and responsible exploration of this technology.
While early versions may still require human teleoperation for complex tasks, a reality noted in testing by some outlets, the platform is designed to learn and improve over time via remote guidance and real-world interaction, accelerating progress toward greater autonomy.
This buzz speaks to something bigger than a single product: it’s a signal that humanoid robotics is transitioning from labs and prototypes into real-world use cases, with people and companies actively engaging with the tech right now.
The arrival of NEO, and the conversations it has sparked, point to a broader inflection point for the robotics industry. What was long viewed as a distant vision is now taking tangible shape, driven by rapid advances in AI, hardware, and real-world deployment. With growing interest from leading investors, industrial players, and early adopters, humanoid robotics is beginning to move out of labs and pilot projects and into everyday environments. The enthusiasm surrounding the launch reflects a shared belief that this technology is ready to be explored, tested, and shaped in collaboration with users. In that sense, NEO is not just a product milestone for 1X, but a signal of how quickly the future of human-robot interaction is becoming part of the present.