Listen to this article

While headlines often spotlight U.S. and Asian companies in the humanoid robotics race, a silent revolution is brewing in the tech hubs of Europe, where cutting-edge startups are making remarkable strides in developing human-like robots.

From Norway to Switzerland, innovative European firms are pushing the boundaries of robotics technology, creating machines that can sense, feel, and interact with their environment in increasingly human-like ways.

These advancements are not just technological marvels; they’re also potential solutions to global labor shortages and catalysts for a societal shift in how we work and live.

Robotics innovation is happening across Europe

Europe offers a favorable market for development, a solid talent pool, and no shortage of innovative ideas and research labs. Its diverse cultures and languages also encourage the development of robots that can navigate complex social interactions.

The continent has a long history of robotics innovation, with a wide range of research conducted across diverse fields such as service, industrial, and cognitive robotics. Examples include PAL Robotics in Spain, which claimed that it developed the first autonomous bipedal robot in Europe, to Swiss companies like ANYbotics and Swiss-Mile leading advances in quadrupedal robots and embodied AI. The continent offers a rich environment for robotics development.

Europe has a diverse and innovative robotics sector. In the realm of autonomous vehicle, the U.K.-based Oxa develops low-compute software, while Sweden’s Einride produces autonomous, electric road transport vehicles. U.K.-based ECARX offers turnkey solutions for next-generation smart vehicles.

---

Register now

---

Startups in Europe take on robotics challenges

Several companies in Europe have been working on promising robotics projects that deserve attention:

1X (Norway): This AI robotics company recently unveiled NEO Beta, a humanoid robot designed for home use. With an impressive $100 million funding round in January 2024, 1X has now raised a total of $137 million.

ABB (Switzerland), a global leader in electrification and automation, is based in Zurich and has more than 105,000 employees worldwide. With over 140 years of experience, the company integrates software and engineering to optimize manufacturing, energy, and automation processes.

ABB Robotics in June launched its next-generation control platform, OmniCore, designed to enhance precision, speed, and sustainability in automation. Resulting from a $170 million investment, OmniCore integrates AI, sensor, cloud, and edge computing systems into a unified control architecture, offering faster and more efficient robotics solutions across industries.

The platform can improve robot motion accuracy to less than 0.6mm and enables up to 25% faster operations while reducing energy consumption by 20%, said the company.

Jointly with Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, ABB Robotics developed an automated fruit-fly transfer system using ABB’s YuMi robot. This eliminated the need for anesthesia, which can affect fly behavior and study accuracy in neurological disease research.

Agile Robots (Germany), founded in 2018 by Dr. Zhaopeng Chen and Peter Meusel, former researchers at DLR’s Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, has rapidly grown to employ over 2,300 people across multiple global production sites and R&D centers in Germany and China.

The Munich-based company specializes in combining AI with robotics for user-friendly solutions to complex manufacturing challenges. Agile Robots said its ability to rely on both “Chinese market dynamics and German engineering precision” sets it apart.

ANYbotics (Switzerland) emerged from pioneering work at ETH Zurich in 2009 and was officially founded in 2016. It has made strides in autonomous robots for industrial applications. It developed ANYmal, a four-legged robot capable of navigating complex terrains and performing inspection tasks in challenging environments.

Over the past 14 years, ANYbotics has demonstrated its ability to enhance worker safety, improve operational efficiency, and support sustainability goals. The company has a partnership with Energy Robotics, a developer of hardware-agnostic fleet management and data analytics platforms, to transform asset monitoring in the energy industry through integrated, autonomous inspections.

KUKA (Germany), founded in 1898 in Augsburg, has evolved from a local acetylene gas plant to one of the world’s leading suppliers of industrial automation. The company said it developed Europe’s first robot-operated welding transfer line in 1971 and the world’s first industrial robot with six electric motor-driven axes in 1973.

KUKA’s sales have exceeded €4 billion ($4.2 billion U.S.) and it employs around 15,000 people across more than 50 countries. The company’s portfolio includes LBR iiwa cobot introduced in 2013, and it is expanding into new markets and regions beyond its traditional stronghold in the automotive industry.

In 2023, the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award winner introduced three new autonomous mobile robots (AMRs): the KMR iisy, a mobile manipulator with a collaborative arm and a 200 kg (440.9 lb.) payload capacity; the KMP 1500P, designed for heavy-duty tasks carrying up to 1.5 tons; and the KMP 600-S, capable of transporting 600 kg (1,322.7 lb.).

Neura Robotics (Germany), founded in 2019, said it is a player in the cognitive robotics field. The Metzingen-based company has grown to more than 170 employees from over 30 countries, attracting diverse talent in a competitive tech landscape. NEURA’s product lineup, including the MAiRA cognitive cobot and 4NE-1 humanoid robot, showcases its focus on advancing human-robot collaboration.

The company’s recent partnership with NVIDIA to use the Isaac platform suggests NEURA is positioning itself strategically in the AI-driven robotics market. However, the real-world impact and market adoption of these technologies remain to be seen in the coming years.

PAL Robotics (Spain) has been at the forefront of service robotics since 2004, gaining significant traction with its autonomous robots across various sectors including industry, healthcare, retail, agriculture, and food. With more than two decades of experience, the company has established itself as a leader in the field, continuing to inspire roboticists worldwide through its customizable robotic platforms and modular components designed for integration into daily life and industrial settings.

Shadow Robot (U.K.), founded in the late 1990s by a non-tech entrepreneur and a group of hobbyists, has become Britain’s longest-running robotics company. The London-based company is best known for developing the Shadow Dexterous Hand, described as the most advanced five-fingered robotic hand in the world. It features 20 motors, 24 degrees of freedom, and over 100 sensors.

Shadow Robot said its technology is being used in both academic and commercial settings. The company’s ethical stance, including a “robots for good” policy and refusal to sell for military use, shows its commitment to responsible innovation.

Swiss-Mile (Switzerland), incorporated in April 2023 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich‘s Robotic Systems Lab. In its first year, the company achieved early traction with pilot deployments for last-mile delivery in smart cities and security for critical infrastructure.

Swiss-Mile raised $22 million in seed funding round in August 2024, led by Jeff Bezos and HongShan. This substantial early-stage funding and the involvement of high-profile investors demonstrated market confidence in Swiss-Mile’s approach to creating autonomous robots that integrate AI with the physical world.

Universal Robots (Denmark), founded in 2005 in Odense, has established itself as a pioneer in collaborative robotics. The company first sold the UR5 cobot in 2008, followed by the launches of UR10 in 2012 and UR3 in 2015.

Universal Robots’ growth is evidenced by its acquisition by Teradyne Inc. for $285 million in 2015, the introduction of the e-Series in 2018, and reaching the industry milestone of 50,000 cobots sold worldwide in 2020. It also launched the UR20, a 20kg payload cobot, in 2022, and opened its 100th training center, showcasing its commitment to education and global expansion.

What’s driving the robotics boom in Europe?

The explosion in robotics research is not happening in a vacuum. It’s driven by pressing global needs, particularly labor shortages.

“Labor shortages have appeared across a diverse group of countries that have no apparent common features other than their stage of development,” said a recent McKinsey report. “Tightness is particularly acute in seven countries—the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, and the United States—that have more vacancies than unemployed workers.”

McKinsey noted that these countries account for 53% of the total labor supply of the 30 advanced economies in our research, and 64% of collective GDP.

Japan, often considered the front runner in aging population, is projected to have 38% of its population aged 65 or older by 2050, up from 28% in 2020. In Germany, the proportion of people aged 65 and older is expected to rise from 21.7% in 2020 to 31% by 2050, according to the latest data compiled by the United Nations.

The U.S. is aging more slowly than Europe or East Asia but still expects to see its 65+ population increase from 16.9% in 2020 to 22% by 2050. While China and Western markets have vastly different labor and living costs, these economic contrasts directly shape the focus areas and use cases pursued by robotics startups in each region.

These demographic shifts contribute significantly to labor shortages, as the working-age population shrinks relative to the overall population. This trend is likely to continue and potentially intensify in the coming decades, presenting challenges for economic growth and social systems in these countries.

Cobots are part of the solution

Despite perceptions that European factories might lag in robotic innovation, a wave of collaborative robotics is sweeping across the continent’s manufacturing sector. The Sharework and SHERLOCK programs, funded through the European Commission’s Factories of the Future initiative, have developed and implemented systems that work safely alongside human operators without the need for protective barriers.

These intelligent robots, equipped with AI-driven perception and decision-making capabilities, could revolutionize assembly lines from automotive to renewable energy. By focusing on human-centered design and worker well-being, these projects are not only boosting productivity but also improving job quality, potentially opening up manufacturing to a more diverse workforce.

A future with humanoids approaches

Humanoid robots offer another solution to labor shortages, and the market is responding to their potential to reshape industries and society. The global market for humanoid robots was valued at approximately $1.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $9.4 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.2%.

While there are numerous commercial trials, there have been no successful mass deployments or proven business cases in the humanoid robotic space, making it an exciting moment for the industry. Goldman Sachs research predicts that by 2035, the total addressable market for humanoid robots will reach $38 billion—more than six times their previous projection of $6 billion.

Robotics startups such as Neura Robotics and 1x Technologies are focusing more on household applications, setting Europe apart from industrial-focused competitors in the U.S. or China.

At Humanoid, we believe in a more gradual approach, and we think that humanoid robotic technology should first become essential at factories and warehouses before eventually integrating it into our homes.

Three major technical challenges currently limit humanoid robotics development: AI capabilities and training, battery life, and actuator technologies for safe, efficient movement. Social aspects and regulatory concerns are also challenges.

The cost of building these robots varies widely based on their intended use, with our estimates ranging from $10,000 to $300,000 per unit. The investment landscape is dominated by U.S.-based humanoid startups, which attract 80-90% of total funding, followed by Chinese companies.

The U.S. also leads in commercial pilot programs, while stricter labor regulations and the presence of strong labor unions in Europe and the U.K. have limited deployment opportunities in these regions.

Humanoid shares vision and positioning

At Humanoid, we focus on building versatile robots with a modular, human-like design that can integrate into existing environments. These humanoids are intended to be compatible with current tools and automation systems, easily repurposed for different tasks, and capable of automating medium- to high-precision tasks that standard industrial robots cannot handle, all while maintaining safety.

The company‘s vision aligns with those of companies like 1X, which see automation not as a means to maximize efficiency at all costs, but as a way to enhance human potential. By taking on the physically demanding and repetitive tasks, Humanoid’s robots could free up humans to engage in work that is more fulfilling, creative, and aligned with their personal growth.

Imagine a world where former warehouse workers, freed from physical strain and monotony, have the time and energy to pursue education, start businesses, or simply spend more quality time with their families. This is the future we’re working towards — one where technology serves humanity by giving people more time to be truly human.

About the author

Dmitrii Rudnitckii is chief technology officer at Humanoid (SKL Robotics Ltd.). He has extensive international experience and a proven track record in robotics, AI, and autonomous systems across multiple industries, including manufacturing, telecommunications, and banking.

At Humanoid, Rudnitckii leads the development of next-generation humanoid robots with cutting-edge AI integration to reshape human-robot collaboration and push the boundaries of automation. He previously spearheaded the creation of a fully flexible autonomous electric vehicle factory at ARRIVAL, a company focused on creating zero-emission transportation through advanced manufacturing processes.