With shipments expected later this year and 10,000 units planned for 2027, the 1X CEO says he would like NEO to take a cab and show up at your home, knocking on the door.

1X Technologies, a Norwegian startup backed by OpenAI, has opened a 58,000-square-foot factory in Hayward, California — marking the first fully vertically integrated humanoid robot production facility in the United States. The factory is dedicated to building the company's NEO home robot, with an initial target of 10,000 units in the first year of production. NEO boasts impressive specs: it can lift up to 70 kg, sprint at 6.2 m/s, and operates nearly silently at just 22 decibels — quieter than a whisper. At $20,000 outright or $499/month via a subscription model, 1X is aiming squarely at the mass consumer market, making humanoid robotics accessible beyond industrial or research settings. CEO Bernt Børnich envisions NEO taking a cab to customers' homes and knocking on their door, a vivid symbol of the company's push for autonomous home delivery and personal assistance.

With consumer shipments expected to begin by late 2026 and ramping up to 10,000 units by 2027, 1X is positioning NEO as a practical household companion rather than a factory-floor novelty. The vertically integrated approach — controlling design, manufacturing, and assembly under one roof — gives 1X tight control over quality and cost, a critical advantage as competition in humanoid robotics heats up from companies like Tesla (Optimus) and Boston Dynamics. The OpenAI backing also provides access to cutting-edge AI models for NEO's cognition and autonomous navigation. If 1X can deliver on its timeline and pricing, NEO could become the first widely deployed humanoid robot in consumer homes, fundamentally redefining daily chores, eldercare, and personal automation.