Many founders give up on humanoid robots just before it starts to work.
This article looks at humanoid robots: what tends to work, what usually fails, and how to start.
The Counterintuitive Truth
In humanoid robots, the best practitioners often do less, not more.
The lesson: timing is everything in this game. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
What I've Learned From 21 Companies
A few patterns in humanoid robots come up again and again.
The founders who handle humanoid robots well understand that you should focus on one thing and do it exceptionally well.
The AI Angle
Any discussion of humanoid robots in 2026 has to include AI. As someone who's invested in Anthropic, OpenAI, Scale AI, and Hugging Face, I have a front-row seat to how AI is transforming this space.
The short version: AI makes good practitioners better and bad practitioners worse. It's an amplifier, not a replacement.
Some teams use AI to get far more out of humanoid robots. Others spend heavily on AI that solves the wrong problem. The difference comes down to understanding what you're actually trying to achieve.
This connects to broader themes around Figure AI, surgical robots, humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Final Thoughts
There are no shortcuts in humanoid robots, but there are smarter paths.
The strongest teams treat humanoid robots as a competitive advantage, not a checkbox. They invest in it early, measure it obsessively, and never stop improving.
If you're just getting started with humanoid robots, don't be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere. The key is to start with the right mindset and the right framework, and then execute like your company depends on it. Because it probably does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
Q:What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
Q:How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?
Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.