StarBot
StarBot (StarBot USA) is a Santa Barbara, California company that builds embodied-AI robot platforms for education, university research and real-world service work, and says every robot is made in the USA. It was founded by Yong Wang, who owns the Meet Up Chinese restaurant in Santa Barbara, where robots have served customers since 2022, together with a young engineering team that includes UC Santa Barbara students. The company began in January 2025 by using a Unitree G1 humanoid as its main research platform, and it placed sixth in a hospitality challenge at the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing that August. It then moved to its own hardware. Its roadmap spans four platforms: the Nova wheeled service robot with two 7-DOF arms (December 2025), the Astra humanoid research platform, about 5 feet tall with 23 degrees of freedom (July 2026), the compact Spark platform for youth education (September 2026) and the foldable wheeled Flex service robot. StarBot had about 10 employees in late 2025, working from offices at UCSB and the restaurant, and takes $200 reservations for Astra, Spark and Flex.
💡Notable Achievement: StarBot grew out of founder Yong Wang's Santa Barbara restaurant, Meet Up Chinese, where robots have served customers since 2022, and placed sixth in a hospitality challenge at the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games.
What Does StarBot Do?
StarBot of Santa Barbara builds US-made robots for classrooms, university labs and restaurants, from the Astra humanoid research platform to the Nova and Flex service robots.
“US-made robots from classroom to restaurant.”
Research Platform
Astra: 5 ft, 23-DOF humanoid for universities.
Real-World Testing
Robots work in the founder's restaurant.
Four Platforms
Nova, Astra, Spark and Flex.
What Can StarBot Robots Actually Do?
Cross-portfolio operational capabilities, manipulation tasks, and environmental competencies
Education, research and service robots.
Research and Education
Humanoid platform for motion-control, RL and sim-to-real research.
StarBot Robots
Showing 1 Humanoid Robots of 1 total model
StarBot Astra
Manufactured by StarBot
StarBot Astra is a 5 ft, 23-degree-of-freedom humanoid research platform from StarBot, a Santa Barbara, California company that builds its robots in the USA. Released in July 2026, it is meant for universities, research institutions and R&D teams working on motion control, reinforcement learning, sim-to-real transfer and human-robot interaction. It walks on two legs and weighs about 34 kg, powered by a 48 V battery that gives roughly two to five hours of runtime and recharges in about an hour. StarBot lists a running top speed of 3 m/s and a starting price of USD 9,999, with a USD 200 deposit to reserve a unit. Astra is the second generation in StarBot's line, which began with the Nova wheeled service robot and also includes the Spark education platform and the Flex service robot.
StarBot Software & AI Ecosystem
Developer platforms, fleet management portals, autonomy intelligence, and enterprise integrations
On-device LLM
Local conversation with cloud fallback
Runs language models on the robot and falls back to the cloud, with Isaac simulation support for research.
StarBot Timeline & Milestones
Evolutionary history, landmark prototypes, major acquisitions, and commercial roadmap
StarBot begins with a Unitree G1
StarBot starts its humanoid work in Santa Barbara, acquiring a Unitree G1 as its primary research and development platform.
Source: starbotusa.com
Dynamic balancing and dancing achieved
StarBot achieves full dynamic bipedal balancing and complex dancing algorithms, proving its core motion-control capabilities in real-world physics.
Source: starbotusa.com
Sixth place at World Humanoid Robot Games
StarBot's team places sixth in a hospitality challenge at the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.
Source: independent.com
Precision manipulation refined
StarBot refines fine-motor dexterity algorithms so its robot can perform precise grabbing and complex object handling.
Source: starbotusa.com
StarBot Nova launched
StarBot launches Nova, its first-generation wheeled service robot with two 7-DOF arms, moving from bipedal testing to a stable wheeled base.
Source: starbotusa.com
Service-robot pilot platform integrated
StarBot integrates its navigation, interaction and manipulation work into a service-robot pilot platform for continued validation.
Source: starbotusa.com
StarBot Astra released
StarBot releases Astra, a 5-foot, 75-pound humanoid research platform with 23 degrees of freedom for universities and R&D teams.
Source: starbotusa.com
StarBot Spark and Flex released
StarBot releases Spark, an approximately 3 ft, 35 lb platform for youth education and research, and Flex, a 5 ft 9 in foldable wheeled service robot.
Source: starbotusa.com
StarBot Competitors by Category
Direct industry rivals grouped by specific robotics domain
What Makes StarBot Different?
Editorial AnalysisOrigin of Bots objective strategic assessment, engineering moats, and commercial hurdles
Key Strengths & Moats
- ✓Real-world testing in a working restaurant.
- ✓Low-cost US-made research platform.
- ✓Clear education and research niche.
Core Strategic Focus
Education and research humanoids.
Road Ahead & Challenges
- •Very small team.
- •Specs mostly self-reported.
- •Competes with low-cost Chinese platforms.
StarBot vs Key Competitors
Strategic capability matrix across platform categories, commercial readiness, and target markets
Category / Focus
- StarBot Astra
- Humanoid research platform
- Unitree G1
- Low-cost research humanoid
- K1 Humanoid
- Education and research humanoid
- Bumi
- Small education humanoid
Primary Use
- StarBot Astra
- University research, RL and sim-to-real
- Unitree G1
- Research and education
- K1 Humanoid
- Education, research
- Bumi
- STEM education, programming
Weight
- StarBot Astra
- 34 kg
- Unitree G1
- 35 kg
- K1 Humanoid
- 19.5 kg
- Bumi
- 12 kg
Release Year
- StarBot Astra
- 2026
- Unitree G1
- 2024
- K1 Humanoid
- 2023
- Bumi
- 2025
| Strategic Dimension | StarBot Astra | Unitree G1 | K1 Humanoid | Bumi |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category / Focus | Humanoid research platform | Low-cost research humanoid | Education and research humanoid | Small education humanoid |
| Primary Use | University research, RL and sim-to-real | Research and education | Education, research | STEM education, programming |
| Weight | 34 kg | 35 kg | 19.5 kg | 12 kg |
| Release Year | 2026 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 |
Corporate Ecosystem & Ownership Structure
Parent company relationships, historical acquisitions, and global operating facilities
Yong Wang
Founder and CEO; owner of the Meet Up Chinese restaurant in Santa Barbara.
Ownership & Acquisition History
Founder and CEO; owner of the Meet Up Chinese restaurant in Santa Barbara.
Global Facilities & Operating Hubs
StarBot Robotics Headquarters
HQSanta Barbara, California, United States
StarBot Headquarters
HQSanta Barbara, California, United States
StarBot at UC Santa Barbara
R&DSanta Barbara, California, United States
Offices at UCSB, where student engineers work on the robots.
Frequently Asked Questions
8 AnswersVerified answers, company specifications, and deployment details about StarBot
What is StarBot?
StarBot, also called StarBot USA, is a Santa Barbara, California company that builds embodied-AI robots for education, university research and service work such as restaurants and hospitality. It says its robots are made in the USA.
What is StarBot Astra?
Astra is StarBot's humanoid research platform, released in July 2026. It stands about 5 feet tall, weighs about 75 pounds and has 23 full-body degrees of freedom for motion-control, reinforcement-learning and human-robot interaction research.
What robots does StarBot make?
StarBot's roadmap has four platforms: the Nova wheeled service robot, the Astra humanoid research platform, the compact Spark education platform and the foldable wheeled Flex service robot.
Who founded StarBot?
StarBot was founded by CEO Yong Wang, owner of the Meet Up Chinese restaurant in Santa Barbara, with a young engineering team that includes UC Santa Barbara students such as chief technical officer Jerry Yang.
How is StarBot connected to a restaurant?
StarBot grew out of Meet Up Chinese in Santa Barbara, where robots have served customers since 2022. The restaurant doubles as a real-world test site, and the company works from offices there and at UCSB.
Did StarBot compete at the World Humanoid Robot Games?
Yes. StarBot's team placed sixth in a hospitality challenge at the first World Humanoid Robot Games, held in Beijing in August 2025.
How can you order a StarBot robot?
StarBot takes $200 reservations for Astra, Spark and Flex on its website. Configuration, taxes, shipping and delivery timing are confirmed later, and schools and research programs can request a project quotation.
How did StarBot start?
StarBot began in January 2025 using a Unitree G1 humanoid as its research platform, then built its own hardware, launching the Nova wheeled service robot in December 2025.
Verified Data & Editorial Assurance
Compiled from verified corporate filings, official StarBot datasheets, and robotics engineering registries. Data is monitored and audited on an ongoing basis for accuracy. For commercial procurement or proprietary integrations, contact the manufacturer directly.