Hello giants: Apple, Meta, Amazon and humanoid robots
Today in Humanoid Daily ... Apple enters the humanoid robot race, Amazon's big humanoid robot bet, China's rare-earths magnet export deadline, Korea and the Gulf states accelerate humanoid deployments, healthcare workers want robots, and the number of the day is 1,730.
Hello Apple: Apple enters the humanoid robot race
No, Apple is not releasing an Apple-branded humanoid robot. BUT, something almost as unprecedented happened: Apple just published a major humanoid robotics research paper. That's ... astonishing. And the fact that Apple is publishing this kind of research is probably more important than the research itself.
Apple's HALO system (Apple's experimental AI system for controlling humanoid robots) trained a Unitree G1 humanoid robot entirely in simulation, using 1,000 computer-generated homes and zero real-world training data.
Then, the researchers placed it in six real environments it had never seen.
The result? A 91% success rate across 360 trials.
That's impressive. The robot could navigate rooms, sit in chairs, crawl under tables, and move through partially open doors. The bigger deal is eliminating the enormous expense of collecting real-world training data. (Hello Figure AI and it's billions invested in Index and physical AI.)
Something's happening here ...
- Google has Gemini Robotics.
- Meta has partnered with China's Fourier to build Max, a 106-pound humanoid prototype.
- Amazon bought a humanoid robot startup (see more below)
- And now Apple is publicly demonstrating significant humanoid robotics capabilities
These are some of the world's biggest tech companies, with extraordinary resources. They're not all building commercial robots yet. But they're increasingly betting that AI needs a body.
And that changes the game big time.
Imagine an Apple-branded humanoid robot selling globally. Competing with a Google, a Facebook/Meta, an Amazon robot. That would be literally epic ... a game-changer. It's not happening yet, but we can see the early moves being made.
Amazon's $50,000 humanoid bet
Another technology giant making moves in humanoid robotics is Amazon. Amazon acquired Fauna Robotics in March, including its Sprout humanoid robot. Sprout is a 50-pound, three-and-a-half-foot-tall bipedal robot designed to operate around people. Its Creator Edition costs around $50,000.
Reports indicate Amazon's Lab126 hardware division is working on a new consumer robotics product.
We all know ... Amazon has already deployed more than a million robots in its fulfillment centers and invested in Agility Robotics. So the company knows robots, in some ways better than any others. But home robotics has been much harder. Amazon's Astro robot never achieved mass adoption, and several previous consumer robotics initiatives failed.
So why try again?
Because physical AI has changed dramatically. Robots can potentially become much smarter, much more adaptable, and much more useful. Physical AI is faster, cheaper, better today than it was even a year ago.
If Amazon combines its manufacturing scale, distribution, Alexa ecosystem, and new humanoid technology, it could become a serious competitor.
China's magnet deadline: two days
But every giant entering the humanoid race faces one enormous dependency.
China.
A typical humanoid needs 30 or more electric motors, and those motors depend heavily on rare-earth permanent magnets. And China manufactures approximately 94% of the world's sintered neodymium magnets.
And November 10 is a critical deadline.
China's suspension of certain export controls is scheduled to expire, even though the broader US-China trade truce has reportedly been extended to January. Without a formal extension of the relevant controls, manufacturers face renewed uncertainty. And alternatives aren't ready at scale. MP Materials is expanding American production, but its planned 10x magnet facility won't commission until 2028.
Everyone wants to build the robots. But China still controls much of what goes inside them.
Korea and the Gulf accelerate
Meanwhile, the global competition is getting serious.
Nvidia AI Day Seoul starts tomorrow, bringing together 20 partners, including Samsung, SK Hynix, LG, and SK Telecom. LG will showcase physical AI work using Nvidia's Isaac GR00T technology, including factory applications. South Korea already leads the world in industrial robot density. Now its technology giants are adding the AI layer.
And in the Gulf, Dubai just opened a dedicated humanoid robot showroom featuring 28 robots. Dubai has a goal of deploying 200,000 robots by 2032, and Saudi Arabia has a framework for potentially 10,000 humanoids over five years.
One major motivation in the Gulf states is dependence on imported labor. Saudi Arabia alone employs 14.8 million foreign workers. Automation could transform these economies, with major consequences for the migrant workers who currently keep them running.
Check out why the Gulf states are so advanced here ...
Healthcare workers want robots
And here's a market that could ultimately be bigger than factories.
Eldercare.
A survey of 148 French healthcare professionals found that 89% supported integrating socially assistive robots into healthcare settings. Another study involving 50 geriatric care professionals across three hospitals explored what that would actually require.
Robots can welcome patients, provide directions, and handle repetitive information tasks. But healthcare workers are especially interested in physical assistance. In the larger survey, that use case scored 7.89 out of 10.
Think lifting patients, helping them move, or assisting with daily care.
The catch? The robots studied weren't capable of those physical tasks. And care workers raised serious concerns about safety, patient dignity, privacy, and supervision. The demand is real. The technology still has a significant distance to travel.
Number of the day: 1,730
Six AgiBot G2 humanoid robots just completed a 24-hour convenience store experiment in Shanghai, and over two million people watched. Together, the robots completed:
- 1,730 tasks, including
- 683 customer interactions
- 369 product pickups and deliveries
- 147 coffee orders
Not bad. But, only four of the six robots passed their evaluations. One struggled to keep track of inventory. Another encountered an overflowing rubbish bin, lost its route, walked out the front door, and couldn't find its way back. Overall, it's probably a pretty good illustration of where humanoid robotics stands in late 2026.
Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Nvidia, and dozens of others are investing in the technology. But an overflowing trash can can still defeat a robot.
Onward and upward!
Sources
Amazon's humanoid robot for the home: why Sprout can succeed
Nvidia AI Day Seoul and Why Gulf states are moving fastest on humanoid robots
Humanoid robots for elder care: what 50 geriatric care professionals think
Written by
I tell stories with data and build startups. I've raised angel and VC funds, led software companies and startups, and chronicled the rise of the mobile economy. Currently I write for Forbes, host several podcasts, and am starting up HumanoidMegaHub. I was TUNE's mobile economist and Singular's VP of Insights, built the research team at VentureBeat, and managed teams creating software for partners like Intel and Disney. In past lives I built websites, e-learning platforms, and mobile apps, and, a long time ago, was named to Folio's top 100 of the media industry's "most innovative entrepreneurs and market shaker-uppers.”