Learning to Flywheel: RoboForce's Humanoids Touch Grass

Asked for differentiators, Leo Ma offers two words, “scalable and deployable.” RoboForce is far from the only humanoid company with such stated objections, but such goals are frequently deprioritized, as companies seek massive funding for long runways, rending real world use a distant dream.

“If you look at the whole landscape, there are companies trying to build a very scalable system that are limited by how much actual value will be created, in terms of deployment,” says Ma. “The other extreme – if you look at traditional systems, they are focused on one task and one machine, that is very deployable. What we have been focusing on is the intersection. We have to be extremely smart in focusing on anything that checks these two boxes.”

I confess to being thrown by the…practicality of it all. RoboForce shares a name with a handful of media properties, including an animated series with shades of RoboCop, executive produced by The Rock that is currently streaming on Tubi. Here’s the synopsis: “In 2089 Detroit, RoboForce was rendered obsolete by the more advanced UA101 bots and forced into menial jobs with no hope of being heroes. That is until a mysterious code virus infects the 101’s, and no one besides RoboForce can stop them.”

The design of the startup’s Titan robot also doesn’t do much to beat the enforcer charges. When a friend at GTC asked if the robot had any lasers, he wasn’t inquiring about LiDAR. RoboForce’s tagline is a bid to dispel that initial rection, noting that the Bay Area company produces, “Robotics for Humanity.” Similarly, when I ask Ma about the name, he assures me that it’s a force for good.

The robot’s robust design reflects its place among a small – but growing – contingent of humanoids built for outdoor work – a list that also includes the likes of Persona AI and Noble Machines. Among its initial applications are solar panel installation, mining, and shipping, along with the more ‘standard’ fare of manufacturing and logistics. 

“Customers care about two kinds of efficiency: time and money,” says Ma. “To really deliver the value, we design backward towards a form factor and end-of-arm tool and pretty much each component of the system, both software and hardware. That is the driving force of how we designed.”

Ma, who cofounded and served as VP of engineering for autonomous forklift and tugger producer, Cyngn, says RoboForce is the culmination of several key factors in physical AI and robotics. The first is data training for physical AI. The second breakthroughs in hardware, including on-device compute processing and sensor availability. The third is the available pool of human talent. To harness these, the company just announced a $52 million raise, bringing its total funding up to $67 million. 

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“That’s a significant milestone that speeds up the company towards accelerating the physical AI model, the manufacturing capability for go-to-market, and the [data] flywheel, as well as inviting the best talent to join the company,” Ma tells me. 

He adds that RoboForce has already begun working with several clients across a wide geography. “We are deep in collaboration with early partners since last year,” Ma says. “We’re working on the next big news. This is across 12 countries, and more than 32 initial [customers]. We have to be really smart in prioritizing. We’re focusing on the really big ones. “

The robot’s robust design reflects its place among a small – but growing – contingent of humanoids built for outdoor work – a list that also includes the likes of Persona AI and Noble Machines. Among its initial applications are solar panel installation, mining, and shipping, along with the more ‘standard’ fare of manufacturing and logistics. 

“Customers care about two kinds of efficiency: time and money,” says Ma. “To really deliver the value, we design backward towards a form factor and end-of-arm tool and pretty much each component of the system, both software and hardware. That is the driving force of how we designed.”

Ma, who cofounded and served as VP of engineering for autonomous forklift and tugger producer, Cyngn, says RoboForce is the culmination of several key factors in physical AI and robotics. The first is data training for physical AI. The second breakthroughs in hardware, including on-device compute processing and sensor availability. The third is the available pool of human talent. To harness these, the company just announced a $52 million raise, bringing its total funding up to $67 million. 

“That’s a significant milestone that speeds up the company towards accelerating the physical AI model, the manufacturing capability for go-to-market, and the [data] flywheel, as well as inviting the best talent to join the company,” Ma tells me. 

He adds that RoboForce has already begun working with several clients across a wide geography. “We are deep in collaboration with early partners since last year,” Ma says. “We’re working on the next big news. This is across 12 countries, and more than 32 initial [customers]. We have to be really smart in prioritizing. We’re focusing on the really big ones. “

The A3 Humanoid Robot Forum is Happening at Automate 2026!

As humanoid robots transition from experimental labs to the factory floor, the Humanoid Robot Forum provides the blueprint for what comes next. This intensive two-day event, taking place from June 23-24 at Automate in Chicago, explores the cutting-edge insights into the performance constraints and measurable outcomes of today's most advanced bionic systems. Learn more and join us there!