UMA
UMA is a Paris humanoid robotics company founded in late 2025 by Rémi Cadène, its chief executive, who spent three years at Tesla working on Optimus and Autopilot and then led LeRobot, Hugging Face's open-source robotics library that gained more than 12,000 GitHub stars in its first year. His co-founders include former Hugging Face engineer Simon Alibert, former Google DeepMind researcher Pierre Sermanet and UK humanoid designer Rob Knight. UMA launched on 1 December 2025 and unveiled Northstar, its first lightweight general-purpose bipedal humanoid, on 7 July 2026, nine months after its founding, for warehouses, factories and eventually homes. It raised a US$40 million seed round backed by Greycroft, Relentless and Unity Growth, with angel investors including Yann LeCun, Datadog chief executive Olivier Pomel and Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf. UMA is targeting Europe as its main market, plans industrial pilots later in 2026 with a robots-as-a-service model, and says it is already talking to 50 potential customers.
💡Notable Achievement: Founded by LeRobot co-creators and former Google DeepMind and Tesla researchers; prototype built in Paris in about nine months.
What Does UMA Do?
UMA is a Paris startup led by former Tesla Optimus researcher Rémi Cadène, building lightweight, repairable general-purpose humanoids for European industry.
“Lightweight humanoids that learn on the job.”
LeRobot Heritage
Founded by LeRobot co-creators.
Lightweight, Repairable Design
Soft outer shell, 40 kg target.
Real-Time Learning
Learns from demonstration.
What Can UMA Robots Actually Do?
Cross-portfolio operational capabilities, manipulation tasks, and environmental competencies
Warehouse, factory and healthcare assistance.
Warehouse Logistics
Totes, parts and packages.
Factory Support
Assembly support.
Healthcare & Lab Assistance
Lab and healthcare assistance.
Learning from Demonstration
Learns from demonstration.
UMA Robots
Showing 1 Humanoid Robots of 1 total model
Northstar
Manufactured by UMA
Northstar is UMA's first flagship general-purpose humanoid, unveiled in July 2026 about nine months after the Paris startup emerged from stealth. UMA describes it as a lightweight, repairable bipedal robot with a soft outer shell, visible mechanical joints and a neutral visor, designed to learn skills in real time from human demonstration. It targets European factories, warehouses and healthcare pilots first, and homes later, under a robots-as-a-service model.
UMA Software & AI Ecosystem
Developer platforms, fleet management portals, autonomy intelligence, and enterprise integrations
UMA Real-Time Learning
Learn from Demonstration
Stack built on open-source tooling.
LeRobot Heritage
Open-Source Robotics Tooling
Open-source tooling heritage.
UMA Timeline & Milestones
Evolutionary history, landmark prototypes, major acquisitions, and commercial roadmap
UMA launches from Europe
UMA announces its launch in Paris to build physical AI and humanoid robots from Europe.
Source: businesswire.com
Northstar humanoid unveiled
UMA unveils Northstar, a lightweight general-purpose bipedal humanoid, and a US$40 million seed round.
Source: electrek.co
UMA Competitors by Category
Direct industry rivals grouped by specific robotics domain
What Makes UMA Different?
Editorial AnalysisOrigin of Bots objective strategic assessment, engineering moats, and commercial hurdles
Key Strengths & Moats
- ✓Seed round of roughly US$40M reported.
- ✓Team of ex-Tesla and DeepMind researchers.
- ✓Prototype in about nine months.
Core Strategic Focus
Northstar pilots in Europe.
Road Ahead & Challenges
- •Unveiled July 2026; unproven in production.
- •Round size not confirmed.
UMA vs Key Competitors
Strategic capability matrix across platform categories, commercial readiness, and target markets
Category / Focus
- UMA
- Lightweight Bipedal Humanoid
- Figure AI Figure 03
- General-purpose humanoid
- NEURA Robotics 4NE-1
- European humanoid
- Agility Robotics Digit
- Logistics humanoid
- Pollen Robotics Reachy 2
- European open humanoid
Primary Use
- UMA
- Warehouse logistics, factory assembly support
- Figure AI Figure 03
- Laundry handling, dish handling
- NEURA Robotics 4NE-1
- Not listed
- Agility Robotics Digit
- Tote handling, inventory sorting
- Pollen Robotics Reachy 2
- Academic research
Weight
- UMA
- 40 kg
- Figure AI Figure 03
- 61 kg
- NEURA Robotics 4NE-1
- 80 kg
- Agility Robotics Digit
- 60 kg
- Pollen Robotics Reachy 2
- 50 kg
Battery Runtime
- UMA
- 2–4 h
- Figure AI Figure 03
- 5 h
- NEURA Robotics 4NE-1
- 6–8 h
- Agility Robotics Digit
- 4 h
- Pollen Robotics Reachy 2
- 8 h
| Strategic Dimension | UMA(Current) | Figure AI Figure 03 | NEURA Robotics 4NE-1 | Agility Robotics Digit | Pollen Robotics Reachy 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category / Focus | Lightweight Bipedal Humanoid | General-purpose humanoid | European humanoid | Logistics humanoid | European open humanoid |
| Primary Use | Warehouse logistics, factory assembly support | Laundry handling, dish handling | Not listed | Tote handling, inventory sorting | Academic research |
| Weight | 40 kg | 61 kg | 80 kg | 60 kg | 50 kg |
| Battery Runtime | 2–4 h | 5 h | 6–8 h | 4 h | 8 h |
Corporate Ecosystem & Ownership Structure
Parent company relationships, historical acquisitions, and global operating facilities
Greycroft
Seed investor.
Ownership & Acquisition History
Seed investor.
Global Facilities & Operating Hubs
UMA Headquarters
HQParis, France
Frequently Asked Questions
8 AnswersVerified answers, company specifications, and deployment details about UMA
What is UMA?
UMA is a Paris humanoid robot start-up, founded in late 2025 by former Tesla Optimus scientist and LeRobot creator Rémi Cadène, that unveiled the Northstar humanoid in July 2026.
Who founded UMA?
UMA is led by Rémi Cadène, with co-founders Simon Alibert, a former Hugging Face engineer, Pierre Sermanet, formerly of Google DeepMind, and robot designer Rob Knight.
What is UMA Northstar?
Northstar is UMA's first lightweight general-purpose bipedal humanoid, built for warehouses and factories and eventually homes, unveiled on 7 July 2026.
How much has UMA raised?
UMA raised a US$40 million seed round backed by Greycroft, Relentless and Unity Growth, plus angels including Yann LeCun, Olivier Pomel and Thomas Wolf.
How is UMA related to Hugging Face?
UMA's chief executive Rémi Cadène led LeRobot, Hugging Face's open-source robotics library, and co-founder Simon Alibert also worked at Hugging Face.
When will UMA robots be deployed?
UMA plans to start industrial pilots in Europe in 2026 with a robots-as-a-service pricing model, and says it is already talking to 50 potential customers.
Why is UMA focused on Europe?
UMA is deliberately targeting Europe rather than the United States or China, citing high labour costs, demographic trends and dense industrial infrastructure.
How much does Northstar cost?
UMA has not published a price for Northstar, and plans to offer it through a robots-as-a-service model for its first pilots.
Verified Data & Editorial Assurance
Compiled from verified corporate filings, official UMA 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.