Humanoid’s New Deal: Bosch Will Build Its Robots With Schaeffler Parts

InnovationConsumer TechHumanoid’s New Deal: Bosch Will Build Its Robots With Schaeffler PartsByJohn Koetsier,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster.Follow AuthorMay 21, 2026, 08:00am EDTHumanoid's HMND 01 robot working for Bosch.HumanoidAt 1X, maker of the NEO humanoid robot, vertical integration is religion: motors, batteries, copper coils, even the tendons in robot limbs. The UK’s Humanoid, however, is taking exactly the opposite strategy: German industrial giant Schaeffler is going to supply components for Humanoid’s robots, and Bosch is going to build them.Humanoid, the UK-based robotics company founded by Artem Sokolov in 2024, announced today that Bosch will manufacture its HMND 01 robots for the European market. The manufacturing deal follows a successful March 2026 proof-of-concept at a Bosch logistics facility, where Humanoid’s robots autonomously moved boxes across five different sizes, weights and footprints from conveyors to trolleys. The two companies are also exploring integration of Bosch actuators, drives, and sensors into future HMND versions.Add this to what Humanoid announced just six days ago — Schaeffler’s components as a key part of the HMND humanoid robot, a plan to deploy more than 1,000 robots at Schaeffler facilities, and scaling component purchases to support delivery of upwards of 100,000 robots by 2031 — and the picture clarifies. Humanoid is taking a different path than 1X and other humanoid robotics manufacturers, like Figure, that are maximizing vertical integration.First, it’s Euro-centric, with European component providers and manufacturers. It’s worth noting that Humanoid has also announced deployments and projects with Siemens and SAP.Second, it’s distributed, with Humanoid looking to be responsible for research, design, integration and all the heavy lifting it requires to ship a working, capable humanoid robot, but partnering with major...