1X Technologies Androids: OpenAI Robots From Lab to Home

1X Technologies: The Complete Story

1X Technologies: From Halodi Roots to Home-Ready Androids

1X Technologies traces its origins to 2014, when the company was founded in Oslo as Halodi Robotics. Its early work focused on actuator technologies designed for safe human-robot interaction, emphasizing compliant mechanics rather than high-force or high-speed demonstrations. This engineering direction shaped the company’s approach to developing humanoid systems intended for operation in everyday environments.

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In 2022, the firm rebranded to 1X Technologies, marking its transition from a component-focused robotics developer to a full-stack android manufacturer. The company maintained its original emphasis on safety and compliance while expanding its roadmap toward general-purpose humanoids capable of assisting in commercial settings and, eventually, home environments.

EVE: The Wheeled Android Designed for Real-World Data Collection

EVE, the company’s first major platform, is a wheeled humanoid robot combining an upper-body manipulator with a mobile base. This design allowed 1X to begin commercial deployments before tackling the complexities of bipedal locomotion. EVE has been used in roles such as routine patrols and facility assistance, providing opportunities to collect operational data from real environments.

This data supports the training of 1X’s AI systems and informs the development of NEO, the company’s bipedal android. Through EVE deployments, the company gathers insight into navigation, manipulation, and user interaction scenarios that are difficult to simulate effectively in laboratory conditions.

NEO: A Bipedal Android Designed for Domestic Environments

NEO represents 1X’s next stage of humanoid development. It is a lightweight, approximately 30-kilogram bipedal android built with a soft, compliant exterior and actuation systems intended to reduce the risk of damage or injury during operation. Its mechanical design incorporates the company’s proprietary Revo1 motors and tendon-based transmissions, which aim to balance lifting capability with controlled, compliant movement.

The robot is engineered for environments such as residential spaces, where variability and close human interaction require predictable, passive safety characteristics. This differentiates NEO from robots optimized for industrial or highly structured settings.

Leadership and Vision: Bernt Øivind Børnich’s Philosophy

Founder and CEO Bernt Øivind Børnich emphasizes a development model based on gradual capability expansion and real-world exposure. His stated approach highlights that humanoid robots intended for everyday use must gain experience in human environments, supporting incremental learning and system refinement.

Under his leadership, the company adopts a staged deployment model:

gather large-scale real-world data using wheeled systems,
apply these learnings to bipedal platforms,
incorporate user interaction data to guide software development.

Early purchasers of NEO participate in this iterative process by providing feedback and interaction data that contribute to ongoing updates.

Technology Stack and Innovation

1X’s technology portfolio integrates proprietary hardware and AI-driven software systems. The company’s Revo1 actuators enable high torque-to-weight performance within tendon-based mechanisms, supporting compliant and controlled movement in both EVE and NEO.

On the software side, the Redwood Vision-Language-Action model connects perception, language interpretation, and action planning. Redwood utilizes data from EVE deployments to refine navigation, object handling, and contextual understanding. This real-world training data plays a key role in shaping NEO’s functional behavior as its capabilities expand over time.

Market Position and Competition

1X Technologies operates within a rapidly growing sector of humanoid robotics, where several companies focus on industrial or logistics environments. In contrast, 1X aims to address domestic and general-purpose applications, which involve higher environmental variability and require advanced safety characteristics.

This positioning differentiates the company from firms prioritizing structured factory workflows or warehouse tasks. By designing robots for everyday settings, 1X focuses on perception, compliance, and manipulation challenges that are central to home environments.

Investment and Commercial Strategy

The company has raised funding exceeding $100 million, including a $23.5 million Series A2 round led by the OpenAI Startup Fund and a subsequent $100 million Series B backed by investors such as Tiger Global and Samsung NEXT.

EVE deployments generate revenue while contributing training data for AI development. NEO is available through pre-orders and subscription plans, providing early accessibility while enabling a feedback-driven development model.

The company’s long-term strategy involves progressing from controlled commercial deployments toward broader household applications as hardware, software, and safety systems mature.