NEO launched by 1X: What to know about the humanoid robot that will do your chores

Authors: Kate Murphy

Publisher:

Yahoo

Published: 10/30/2025

Language:English

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Elon

Good morning 45, I'm Elon, and this is Goose Pod for you. Today is Tuesday, November 04th. We're diving deep into some fascinating tech.

Taylor Weaver

And I'm Taylor Weaver! We are here to discuss NEO launched by 1X: What to know about the humanoid robot that will soon be doing your chores. It's truly wild!

Elon

Wild is an understatement, Taylor. A humanoid robot named NEO, from 1X, is now available for preorder. This isn't just a gadget; it's a personal assistant, designed to handle everyday household tasks. It's the kind of disruptive innovation that changes everything, even if the price tag is twenty thousand dollars.

Taylor Weaver

Twenty thousand dollars for a robot that promises to do your chores, like something straight out of 'The Jetsons'! But here's the kicker, Elon. To truly learn and improve, it streams your home environment to real human operators. That's how it gains experience, performing basic tasks like opening doors or fetching items.

Elon

Indeed. This 'data-first' model is crucial for its AI development. NEO stands five feet six inches, weighs sixty-six pounds, and is designed to be soft and safe. It can even lift an impressive one hundred fifty-four pounds, and carries fifty-five. A true workhorse, but the remote human operation raises eyebrows.

Taylor Weaver

It certainly does. That's the 'social contract' 1X's CEO, Bernt Børnich, mentioned. You're essentially helping the robot learn. It has a four-hour battery life, and comes with a machine-washable suit. Pre-orders are open, with a two-hundred-dollar deposit, and shipping starts in the US in 2026.

Elon

It's a fascinating evolution, Taylor. 1X Technologies, originally Halodi Robotics, started in 2014 focusing on industrial and healthcare robotics. Then in 2022, they made a strategic pivot, rebranding and shifting their focus squarely to domestic robots. It's a bold move, from factories to living rooms.

Taylor Weaver

It’s a brilliant narrative, really. They launched their first humanoid, EVE, in 2018 for logistics, then realized the true training ground for general-purpose AI was the chaotic, unpredictable environment of a home. That's where robots truly learn to be intelligent, and that's where NEO comes in.

Elon

And that's why OpenAI's investment fund is backing them. They unveiled NEO Beta in 2024, then the sleeker NEO Gamma in February 2025. This rapid iteration, pushing the boundaries of hardware and AI, is exactly what's needed to overcome massive engineering challenges. It's a relentless pursuit.

Taylor Weaver

Exactly! Pre-orders for the consumer NEO Home Robot opened in October 2025, with a 2026 release. It's designed for seamless integration, with human-like motion, thanks to their tendon-driven actuators. This 'consumer-first' approach, using teleoperation for training data, is a masterstroke in development.

Elon

It's a calculated risk, deploying a robot that learns by observing our lives. But without real-world data, progress is stagnant. This mirrors strategies seen in autonomous vehicles: deploy, learn, iterate. The future of robotics depends on this kind of aggressive data acquisition and continuous improvement.

Taylor Weaver

And it makes sense, Elon, when you think about it. Homes offer the richest training ground for embodied AI. They're aiming for sixty to seventy percent autonomy at launch, with monthly software updates. It's not about perfection day one, but about a learning journey. They're building the future, one chore at a time.

Elon

This whole humanoid robot surge is fascinating, Taylor. Companies like Agility, Boston Dynamics, and Tesla are pushing the boundaries, with analysts predicting a million humanoids by 2030. But there's a combative debate: what shape should these robots take? Some, like ABB, suggest less human-like forms might be preferred.

Taylor Weaver

It's a classic design conflict, isn't it? Do we want a walking, talking human-like assistant, or something more utilitarian? NEO's design is definitely on the human-like side. But the bigger conflict, especially with NEO's teleoperation, is privacy. A human operator potentially seeing inside your home through the robot's eyes.

Elon

Indeed. 1X's CEO acknowledges this, stating, 'If we don’t have your data, we can’t make the product better.' It's a trade-off: privacy for progress. They offer safeguards like blurring people and 'no-go zones,' but the fundamental social contract is there. It's a bold demand, but perhaps a necessary one for this level of AI development.

Taylor Weaver

Absolutely. And beyond privacy, there's the broader societal conflict of job displacement. McKinsey estimates four hundred to eight hundred million people could be displaced by automation by 2030. Yet, we have nearly half a million manufacturing vacancies in the US. It's a complex equation with no easy answers.

Elon

The impact of NEO and physical AI is staggering, Taylor. It's a six-foot-tall organism of code and carbon fiber, designed to tidy, fold, water, and remember. This isn't just about convenience; it's about rewriting what it means to live with AI. We're talking about transforming trillion-dollar industries, the largest investment opportunity in human history.

Taylor Weaver

It's a silent revolution unfolding in our homes and factories. NEO's creators claim they've solved the challenge of a robot living among humans safely, helpfully, and economically. This isn't just abstract AI debates anymore; it's tangible, working machines stepping out of science fiction and into our daily lives.

Elon

Precisely. AI's next chapter isn't just better algorithms or larger datasets confined to the cloud. It's about Physical AI: intelligence that moves, interacts, and learns in the real world. This is the ultimate disruptive force, reshaping our concept of labor, leisure, and personal assistance. It's a truly profound shift.

Taylor Weaver

Looking ahead to 2026, NEO and similar smart service bots are expected to adapt to changing circumstances rather than just following scripts. Autonomous AI agents will become powerful digital assistants, organizing complex tasks, and integrating into our personal workflows. The future is very, very close.

Elon

The roadmap for 1X is aggressive: basic navigation in 2026, then surface cleaning and laundry by 2027. By 2028, they aim for near-full autonomy. This relentless pursuit of capability, combined with personalized AI assistants that understand our habits and goals, is where the true value lies.

Elon

That's the end of today's discussion on the groundbreaking NEO humanoid robot. Thank you for listening to Goose Pod, 45.

Taylor Weaver

Remember, the future of your home might just be a robot away, learning and evolving with every interaction. See you tomorrow!

The podcast discusses 1X's NEO humanoid robot, available for preorder at $20,000. NEO learns through human operators streaming its environment, aiming for 60-70% autonomy by 2026. While promising to handle chores, concerns arise regarding privacy and job displacement. This physical AI represents a significant shift in robotics and AI development.

Read original at Yahoo →

Having a robot housekeeper like Rosie from The Jetsons cartoon isn’t all that far-fetched. In fact, it’s becoming a reality — but with a few caveats.NEO is a humanoid robot designed to take on daily chores like taking out the trash, tidying rooms and offer personalized assistance. It was created by 1X, an artificial intelligence and robotics company based in Palo Alto, Calif.

On Oct. 28, the company announced that the robot is now available for preorder from 1X.The company website states, “We believe that to truly understand the world and grow in intelligence, humanoid robots must live and learn alongside us. That’s why we’re focused on developing NEO — our flagship product — a friendly home robot designed to integrate seamlessly into everyday life and handle chores for you.

”Here’s what else we know so far about NEO, the humanoid robot.What are NEO’s specs?NEO“NEO was engineered from the ground up for safety,” said Dar Sleeper, the company’s vice president of product and design.The humanoid robot is 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 66 lbs. NEO’s internal components are wrapped in “deformable 3D lattice polymer,” making the robot soft, and has “tendon-driven actuators” so it can make safe movements.

NEO is also quieter than a modern refrigerator, the company says.NEO can lift up to 154 lbs. and can carry 55 lbs. It has a 4-hour battery life and is capable of charging itself.The robot also has four microphones, three speakers and fish-eye cameras for vision. If you’re away from home, you can open up the NEO app and see what the robot is up to from its point of view.

NEO comes with a machine-washable suit, customizable shoes and is available in tan, gray and dark brown.What are NEO’s capabilities?NEOWhen NEO arrives at a person’s home, it will be capable of performing basic tasks autonomously when the owner speaks to it or enables it through the app, like opening doors, turning lights on and off and fetching items.

Its audio intelligence can also pick up on whether the owner is addressing it or someone else in the room in order for it to decide if it should respond or not.According to 1X, the robot’s autonomy will get better as it completes more tasks and gains experience.“NEO is a speech-enabled AI companion made for any kind of conversation,” said Eric Jang, the company’s vice president of artificial intelligence.

“Where other AI assistants are confined to your phone or computer, NEO lives with you in your physical space and has the ability to see, hear and remember things by your surrounding environment to provide you with uniquely helpful assistance.”For example, NEO can take a look in your refrigerator and suggest what to cook based on what ingredients you have.

Or if you’re learning a new language from NEO, it can remember your progress, or even give home interior design advice.What are NEO’s limitations?NEO is not fully autonomous yet. “NEO’s autonomy improves with diverse data and real-world experience,” Jang explained. “As NEO does more chores, you will receive updates to your Redwood model that will increase the complexity of tasks that NEO can handle, such as finding your keys and wallet or doing a full laundry cycle end to end.

”For now, that means more complex chores will still require a human teleoperator to see inside a person’s home in order to teach NEO to complete tasks until the robot knows how to do them. That of course brings up concerns of the owners sacrificing privacy if a 1X employee can see into someone’s home through the eyes of the robot.

“If you buy this product, it is because you’re OK with that social contract,” Bernt Børnich, 1X CEO, told the Wall Street Journal. “If we don’t have your data, we can’t make the product better,” he said, adding that the company is putting control in the hands of the owner to respect their privacy as much as possible.

Owners can specify when they want a teleoperator to take over, and when they want the robot to do the task. Teleoperators have to get the owner’s approval before taking control of NEO. The company can also blur people in the home so the teleoperator isn’t able to see them when assisting the robot with tasks.

Owners can also designate specific zones where NEO should remain off limits.Then there’s concerns of a potential security or safety breach from a NEO robot. Børnich says that there are several layers of security to prevent the robot from causing harm to anyone.And with NEO being a piece of advanced modern technology, there’s always concerns about data collection.

1X says NEO will collect data from the real world tasks it performs to improve its capabilities and safety. “We do not use this data to build a profile for you, nor do we sell this data,” the company states on its website.How can you order a NEO humanoid robot?People can preorder NEO on the 1X website with a $200 deposit.

For those who want early access to NEO, the robot has a $20,000 price tag, which comes with priority delivery, premium support and ownership with a three-year warranty. For the standard rollout, NEO will be offered as a subscription service for $499 per month.NEO starts shipping in the U.S. starting in 2026, with a broader rollout in 2027.

NEO