UK-headquartered start-up humanoid robot developer Humanoid, has signed a deal to deploy “thousands” of its robots on the factory floors of motion technology company Schaeffler.

While the number of humanoids to be deployed and the value of the agreement have not been disclosed, Humanoid says the first systems with are set to go live before the end of 2026 and deployment across Schaeffler’s global facilities is expected by 2032.

“The agreement is one of the largest disclosed humanoid robot rollouts ever announced and positions Humanoid, founded by Artem Sokolov in 2024, among the youngest companies to secure a large-scale contract at this level,” Humanoid states. 

Initial deployment will run from December 2026 to June 2027 in two German sites. In Herzogenaurach the focus will remain on advancing box handling use case within a live production environment and, in Schweinfurt there will be a three-month capability demonstration and integration testing period, followed by a three-month on-site phase dedicated to validating stable, continuous operation approaching full production scale.

The agreement is structured around a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) model with Humanoid providing the robotic systems and related services required for end-to-end deployment and operation, including connection to the fleet management software, maintenance, 24/7 technical support, updates, and ongoing performance management. 

Humanoid quotes data from Goldman Sachs which states the total addressable market for humanoid robots is expected to reach USD38 billion by 2035, and USD1 trillion by 2050 “driven by acute labour shortages and demographic pressures across developed countries”.

Sokolov, founder and CEO of Humanoid says of the agreement: “Together with Schaeffler, one of our key industrial partners, we are taking an important step toward making humanoid robotics part of global manufacturing operations”.

“We have already seen strong results from our proof of concept together, and now we are taking the next step to staged deployment. Moving into real-world operations is where the true value of humanoid robots is proven.”

Dr Jochen Schroeder, chief operating officer at Schaeffler says: “By supporting the phased deployment of humanoid systems in real manufacturing environments and serving as a preferred supplier of actuators, we are contributing to the industrial scaling of this technology while further strengthening our role in future-oriented motion solutions.”

Following the initial stages of deployment, both Humanoid and Schaeffler will continue to assess performance and expand deployment across the whole value stream.