Hello $1,688 American humanoid robot ... and hello $50 billion for physical AI!

A $1,688 humanoid robot made in San Francisco? Yes ma’am

How cheap can a useful humanoid robot get? Perhaps just $1,688 USD …

Nori Robotics literally just launched the Nori L3 today. It’s a wheeled humanoid assembled in San Francisco that the company says will start shipping this fall.

No, it’s not Optimus. It’s not Atlas, or Neo, or Figure 03, or an Agibot or Unitree humanoid. It’s probably not going to win anything at the World Humanoid Games anytime soon.

But that’s also not really the point.

Nori has two arms, 19 degrees of freedom, six to eight hours of battery life, lidar, four cameras, and a central lift that lets its arms and head move up and down. The company says it can fetch food from a fridge, pour a drink, load a dishwasher, and fold clothes. It can also lift as much as 55 kilograms — 122 pounds — vertically, although its useful lifting capacity drops dramatically with its arms extended.

There’s also a Skill Marketplace … AKA robot app store where people can share tasks they’ve taught their robots and get skills from other people.

Earlier versions of Nori have already shipped, so this is real.

Straight-up, most really capable general-purpose robots are priced like cars. Some, maybe, like condos (depending where you live). At $1,688 for Nori L3 … we’re starting to talk appliance money.

That’s awesome.

This puts physical AI into the hands of hackers, developers, researchers, small businesses, and even adventurous consumers who otherwise would never spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a robot.

It will be rough around the edges.But cheap robots that are good enough can change a market faster than amazing robots nobody can afford.

Humanoid robots headed to the U.S. border?

Humanoid robots might also be getting a very different kind of job.

Foundation CEO Sankaet Pathak says his company has demonstrated its Phantom humanoid robot to Department of Homeland Security officials and is discussing applications with DHS as well as the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

One rumored possibility: border surveillance.

The idea is that humanoids could operate between fixed cameras, drones, and vehicles. They'd be navigating rough terrain, detecting people, and sending alerts back to human officers.

DHS says it currently has no pilot, active prime contract, or other formal arrangement with Foundation, so this is not a deployment announcement. It’s probably more like a pitch.

Still, it’s significant.

Especially since Eric Trump has been an investor in Foundation since early 2026 and serves as its chief strategy adviser.

For years we’ve talked about humanoids primarily as factory workers and warehouse workers. National security is increasingly emerging as another market … and one with very different implications around autonomy, surveillance, and eventually perhaps weapons.

China has a humanoid traffic cop

Meanwhile, China is already putting humanoids to work in public-facing police roles.

In Wuhu, in Anhui Province, a robot called Wuyou Zhijing R001 has been working alongside traffic police.

And yes, it wears a uniform.

The humanoid can detect some traffic violations, deliver spoken warnings, guide traffic with human-like hand gestures, monitor roads, and connect with city traffic-management systems.

It can apparently even work an eight-hour shift before its battery pack needs swapping.

There are still human police nearby, and this is assistance rather than RoboCop. (Which is good news.) But it’s another example of something we’re seeing more and more in China: humanoids moving out of labs and trade-show booths and into actual operating environments.

Factories … stores … warehouses … hotels.

Now city streets too?.

Number of the day: $47.4 billion

And our number of the day is $47.4 billion.

That is how much venture capital flowed into physical AI companies globally in just the first half of 2026, according to Crunchbase.

That’s 521 deals (!!) and it is almost four times the $12 billion raised in the second half of 2025. It’s also nearly 80% more than the first half of last year.

From 2022 through 2024 — three years — physical AI companies raised a combined $41.9 billion.

The first six months of this year alone beat that.

Now, Crunchbase is using a broad definition of physical AI here. It includes robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, drones, industrial automation, and sensors. And a handful of enormous deals skew the total, including Waymo’s $16 billion round.

But the direction is unmistakable.

For the first wave of generative AI, investors poured money into models and software. Now increasingly they’re betting that intelligence is going to leave the screen and enter machines that perceive, move, manipulate, manufacture, drive, fly, and work in the physical world.

And if today’s other stories are any indication — from a $1,688 home robot to robot police and potential robot border patrols — that transition is already underway.

Thanks for watching!

As always, like, subscribe, and there’s much, much more at HumanoidMegaHub.com!

Sources

1. Forbes — American Humanoid Robot Launches For Just $1,688, Delivery This Fall, Made In San Francisco
   https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2026/08/18/american-humanoid-robot-launches-for-just-1688-delivery-this-fall-made-in-san-francisco/

2. Fox News — Humanoid robots could patrol southern border, CEO pitches, as futuristic technology moves closer to reality
   https://www.foxnews.com/politics/humanoid-robots-patrol-southern-border-ceo-pitches-futuristic-technology-moves-closer-reality

3. BroBible — A Humanoid Robot, Complete With Uniform, Cap And High-Tech Sunglasses, Joined China’s Traffic Police Force
   https://brobible.com/culture/article/humanoid-robot-chinas-traffic-police-force/

4. Crunchbase News — VCs Pour Billions Into Physical AI As The Next Wave Of AI Investing Takes Shape
   https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/physical-ai-funding-startups-robotics-aerospace-h1-2026/