The verified answer
As of Sep 2026, DEPLOY verifies NAO Robot: 1 model, 1 deployment across 1 region, $113.0M raised. 1 source back the record.
CategoryHumanoids
Overview
NAO is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot developed by Aldebaran Robotics (founded 2005 by Bruno Maisonnier in Paris). Originally released in 2008, NAO has been adopted by over 600 universities and 13,000+ units are in use across 70+ countries for education, research, and healthcare applications.
The company was acquired by SoftBank in 2015 for USD 100 million, sold to United robotics group in 2022, entered receivership in June 2025, and its assets were purchased by Maxvision Technologies (China) in July 2025, continuing development under the Maxtronics brand.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- 1 deployment on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
Valuation of record
Company-claimedPriced roundAcquisition post-money
Key facts
Robot
Technology
Customers
Founder
Units deployed
Acquisition history
Status
Key product
Next gen
Form factor
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →NAO Robot on the deployment map
View the global map1 verified deployment across 1 region, newest verified Mar 2008. Explore where NAO Robot's robots are operating, by place and type.
View the full NAO Robot deployment record →
Relationships
ArrivalsBruno Maisonnier from SoftBank Robotics (Pepper)
DeparturesBruno Maisonnier to SoftBank Robotics (Pepper)
Founders (1)
- Bruno Maisonniercofounderno longer at company
previously at SoftBank Robotics
later founded SoftBank Robotics (Pepper), Aldebaran Robotics
Former / Previously (1)
- Bruno Maisonnier Founder & CEOsecondary-verified
Safety record
No incidents on record for NAO Robot.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Operator customers (1)
- NAO Robot1 deployment
Recent coverage
NAO Robot in third-party press
Peers
101 peers across 1 segment. Every NAO Robot competitor derived from shared form-factor and application-domain edges.
humanoid(101)
68 companies in this segment · competitive (HHI 574.5255335898561) · leader Figure AI at 1207%
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- 1X Technologiesdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AI2 Roboticsdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AIST Humanoid Research Groupdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- Acuminodirect competitor(inferred)moderate
- AgiBotdirect competitor(inferred)moderate
Financial state
- Total funding
- $113.0M
- 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.
Funding rounds (2)
NAO Robot’s 2 disclosed rounds, $113M in total, oldest to newest.
- Acquisition2015-01-01
$100M · $500M post
Investors: SoftBank Vision Fund (lead)
- Series B2011-06-01
$13M · $104M post
Investors: Intel Capital (lead)
Timeline
Every recorded move in NAO Robot’s history, most recent first: funding rounds, partnerships, acquisitions, supply-chain starts, key hires, and press.
ArrivalBruno Maisonnier joins
2026-08-23Bruno Maisonnier joined from SoftBank Robotics (Pepper)
DepartureBruno Maisonnier departs
2026-08-23Bruno Maisonnier left to join SoftBank Robotics (Pepper)
Funding roundAcquisition funding round
2015-01-01Acquisition raising $100000000
Funding roundSeries B funding round
2011-06-01Series B raising $13000000
Recent activity
Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.
- Record createdJun 8, 2026
Added to the verified registry
- Deployment verifiedVerifiedMar 1, 2008
NAO at Paris
Sources (1)
Common questions
What is NAO Robot?
What does NAO Robot make?
Is NAO Robot publicly traded?
Who competes with NAO Robot?
Who is the CEO of NAO Robot?
How can I invest in NAO Robot?
Where is NAO Robot headquartered?
How much funding has NAO Robot raised?
Who owns NAO Robot?
Where does NAO Robot operate robots?
How many robots has NAO Robot deployed?
Is NAO Robot a top robotics company?
Is NAO Robot safe?
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-22
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-08-22
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for NAO Robot.Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning NAO Robot from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Xpeng loses product lead before Iron robot enters critical phase - KrASIA
<a…
SoftBank Pepper Review [2026]: Verdict, Strengths & Limitations - RoboZaps
<a…
Could an empathic robot be a part of your future healthcare team? - UVic News
<a…
Universities face getting stuck with thousands of obsolete robots – here’s how to avoid a research calamity - The Conversation
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Nao (robot) - Wikipedia
NAO is an autonomous, programmable humanoid robot developed by Aldebaran Robotics. Aldebaran entered receivership in France in June 2025.
Looking Forward To NAO 7 - i-programmer.info
<a…
Nao - Robot for Education
Ability Magazine article covering NAO robot applications in education, including its use with autistic children and introduction to robotics in schools.
Nao - Robots Guide
Overview of the Nao robot covering its history from Aldebaran Robotics founding in 2005 through SoftBank acquisition and United Robotics Group ownership.
Implementation of NAO Robot Maze Navigation Based on Computer Vision and Collaborative Learning - Frontiers
<a…
Happy Birthday Nao! - Robohub
<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiUEFVX3lxTE9HRmJzTlFmTXBjODV5SGhjNG1mWGpjNW5RNDNPOHU4bHVRQUVtRC1FZDBqbzBYTy11ZHJ6THE4bTJ1MVlQRTZoNlRmTlpPUXR1?oc=5"…
ROBOT WORLD - East Carolina University
<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiV0FVX3lxTFBSQ1dlN21ES1o3VWZtRFpNeXB0bVhvSGNNZ3d6R1YxaE9ZTnN3RWhmb0dZcFMyYXctNmxIUXhUUEpQTGdNVXI0M29yMHlET0NOSU1LVWtfYw?oc=5"…
Study Suggests That You Will Obey Your Future Robot Boss - IEEE Spectrum
<a…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/nao-robot.md
- RSS feed: /companies/nao-robot/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/37c3553f-a8e4-459e-823d-a5b02819b310
- Revision history: /companies/nao-robot/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- Unitree Robotics10 models
- DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics6 models
- Dobot6 models
- AgiBot5 models
- AheadForm5 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
Video
Heat Index
Category contender79/100
A composite of competitive footprint, funding, press velocity, active partnerships, and supply-chain edges. Different from the Intelligence score below (which is per-form-factor productization). Non-robotics companies cap at 25.
Reality vs attention
NAO Robot draws attention at the 75th percentile but verifies reality at the 6th percentile among humanoids. Hype Gap +69, 1st widest among humanoids.
6-month trend
Analysis
Clean safety record across 1 verified deployment. Deployment footprint remains limited relative to category peers.
Signal flags
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Sep 7, 2026