NEO: The $20,000 Humanoid Robot Ready to Enter Your Home

In a development that feels straight out of a sci-fi movie, 1X Technologies has unveiled NEO, a humanoid robot built not for factories but for homes. With a price tag of $20,000 or $499 per month, and deliveries planned for 2026, NEO is being promoted as the world’s first mass-market home robot assistant — a step that could change how we think about everyday living.

Unlike the usual metallic and mechanical prototypes, NEO looks and feels domestic. Weighing around 30 kg, it can lift up to 68 kg and carry 25 kg, all while operating quietly at just 22 decibels — softer than most refrigerators. Available in calm shades like tan, grey, and dark brown, it’s designed to blend effortlessly into modern interiors.

The real breakthrough lies in its intelligence. NEO runs on a built-in large language model, allowing it to understand voice commands, recognize visual cues, and even assist with household planning. From identifying ingredients on a kitchen counter to suggesting recipes or handling repetitive chores, it’s built to learn and personalize over time.

However, 1X Technologies has made it clear that this is an early-generation product. Some tasks will still rely on remote human supervision, especially complex ones. The company calls this the robot’s “learning phase,” acknowledging that real homes — with pets, kids, and unpredictable messes — present tougher challenges than lab environments.

Technically, NEO comes equipped with 22-degree-of-freedom hands, tendon-drive motors, IP68-rated hands, 5G connectivity, and an onboard AI brain. It’s capable of performing a wide range of physical movements while processing voice, vision, and environmental data in real time.

What makes this launch so significant is its timing. Robotics costs are falling, AI models are getting smarter, and consumer curiosity for advanced home assistants is higher than ever. 1X Technologies — formerly known as Halodi Robotics — has raised major funding, including support from the OpenAI Startup Fund, to make humanoid robots a part of daily life rather than a futuristic fantasy.

Still, questions remain. Can it operate safely without supervision? Will it truly save time compared to doing chores manually? And can a $20,000 robot find a place in the average home?

NEO’s arrival signals a major shift — from automation in factories to automation in living rooms. If successful, it could mark the moment when the concept of a home robot assistant became reality, not just imagination. For now, it stands as a bold and fascinating glimpse into what the next generation of smart living might look like — a quiet revolution waiting to unfold in our homes.