Booster Robotics

Explainers

Plain-language answers to the questions people ask about Booster Robotics, from DEPLOY’s explainer library. Each is written in the language of the question and cross-checked against this registry.

• Can I buy a humanoid robot in 2026?

  Yes, but the answer depends on what you mean by buy. Five tiers of humanoid availability exist in 2026: consumer-available (1X NEO at $20,000 outright or $499/month subscription, six-month minimum); research-tools-pricing (Unitree G1 at $13,500-$16,000 and R1 at $5,900); enterprise-deployed (Figure, Apptronik, Agility under contract); consumer-promised but not shipping (Tesla Optimus); and engineering-credibility with commercial transition pending (Boston Dynamics Atlas). Which fits your need depends on whether you're a consumer, a developer, an enterprise procurement organization, or waiting on Tesla.

• What is the best humanoid robot to buy in 2026?

  There is no single best humanoid robot in 2026; the right pick depends on which of the five availability tiers matches your use case. For consumer home use, 1X NEO is the only verified-available option ($20,000 outright or $499/month subscription with a six-month minimum; late-2026 US delivery). For research and developer access, the Unitree G1 is the practical choice. For warehouse and factory pilots, Agility Digit, Apptronik Apollo, and Figure 03 are the platforms with documented commercial deployments. For elite R&D, Boston Dynamics Atlas remains the dynamic-motion benchmark. Tesla Optimus remains consumer-promised but not for sale.

• Who are the leading humanoid robot makers?

  By active commercial deployment activity in 2026, the leading humanoid robot makers are Tesla (Optimus, factory pilots), Figure AI (02, BMW pilot), Agility Robotics (Digit, warehouse operators), Apptronik (Apollo, Mercedes-Benz pilot), 1X Technologies (Neo, consumer pre-launch), Boston Dynamics (Atlas, R&D), and Unitree Robotics (G1/H-series, research). A fast-growing Chinese cohort (UBTech, Xiaomi, XPeng, Fourier, EngineAI, and others) is shipping platforms at increasingly competitive price points.

Current leadership (1)

• Cheng Hao Founder & CEOsecondary-verified

Founders (1)

• Cheng Haocofounder

Safety record

No incidents on record for Booster Robotics.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Operator customers (2)

• China Agricultural University1 deployment
• Tsinghua University1 deployment

Peer companies

• Unitree Robotics9 models
• AgiBot5 models
• Boston Dynamics5 models
• Fourier Intelligence4 models
• Tesla4 models
• UBTech Robotics4 models

Financial state

Reporting basis

private_reported

Lifecycle stage

growth

Counterparty risk class

moderate

Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.

Sources (8)

1. Interesting Engineering: Booster K1/T1 at CES 2026 · https://interestingengineering.com/ces-2026/china-leads-humanoid-robotics-at-ces-2026 ↗ · 2026-01-07
2. https://www.booster.tech/about-us/ ↗
3. https://www.booster.tech/booster-k1/ ↗
4. https://www.caixinglobal.com/2025-07-25/chinas-booster-robotics-lands-new-funding-as-it-hits-a-winning-streak-102344904.html ↗
5. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/china/bumbling-game-robot-soccer-was-breakthrough-embodied-ai-rcna215780 ↗
6. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/02/china/china-humanoid-robot-sports-intl-hnk-dst ↗
7. https://www.humanoidsdaily.com/news/booster-robotics-launches-k1-robocup-champion-platform ↗
8. https://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0818/c90000-20353835.html ↗

Common questions

What is Booster Robotics?

Booster Robotics is a Chinese robotics company developing agile humanoid robots, including bipedal robots for research and industrial applications.

What does Booster Robotics make?

Booster Robotics has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Booster T1 (Booster Robotics builds physical robots).

Is Booster Robotics publicly traded?

No. Booster Robotics is privately held and not publicly traded, per the DEPLOY registry.

Who competes with Booster Robotics?

On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Booster Robotics building in the same form factors include Unitree Robotics, AgiBot, Boston Dynamics, Fourier Intelligence.

Where is Booster Robotics headquartered?

Booster Robotics is headquartered in Beijing, China.