1X (formerly Halodi Robotics) is a Norwegian robotics and artificial intelligence company dedicated to creating androids with practical, real-world applications. Founded in 2014 by Bernt Øivind Børnich, 1X's mission is to produce safe and capable autonomous robots at scale to meet global labor demands.

The company takes a unique, pragmatic approach to hardware, focusing on efficiency and reliability. This is embodied in their android, NEO, which often utilizes a wheeled base for stability and energy efficiency in commercial environments.

A key differentiator for 1X is its deep integration of hardware with a powerful, proprietary AI mind. With significant backing from strategic partners, most notably OpenAI, 1X is at the forefront of developing embodied AI, aiming to build a workforce of androids that can learn from and operate safely alongside humans in logistics, retail, security, and beyond.

AI Used

1X is developing its own proprietary, large-scale AI system called the World Model. This is a multimodal foundation model designed specifically for embodied robotics. Unlike purely language-based models, the World Model processes diverse data streams (video, text, motion) to build a rich, unified understanding of the world. This enables 1X androids like NEO to learn from human demonstration, reason about their environment, and autonomously perform complex, general-purpose tasks.

Robots & Products

• NEO: 1X's flagship android. NEO is designed with a human-like torso, head, and arms, but is often deployed on a wheeled base for practical commercial use, though bipedal versions exist. It is engineered for safety, with a lightweight build and compliant mechanics, allowing it to perform tasks like security patrols, retail logistics, and manufacturing support.
• EVE: An earlier generation wheeled android, which served as a development platform and has been deployed with commercial partners.
• World Model: The proprietary AI that serves as the "brain" for 1X's androids, enabling them to learn and operate autonomously. This is a core product and a central part of their strategy.

Funding to Date

1X has raised over $125 million USD across multiple funding rounds.

Why Choose 1X

• Pragmatic Hardware Design: Focuses on practical and efficient designs (e.g., wheeled bases) to solve real-world problems today, rather than pursuing more complex and less stable bipedal locomotion for all tasks.
• Backed by OpenAI: Their strategic partnership with and investment from OpenAI gives them access to world-class AI research and resources, significantly accelerating their development of embodied AI.
• Proprietary World Model: Their development of a dedicated AI foundation model for robotics allows for deep integration between the android's "mind" and "body."
• Focus on Safety and Scalability: Their androids are designed with safety as a core principle, using lightweight materials and compliant actuators to work alongside humans.
• Real-World Deployments: Has already deployed its androids (EVE and now NEO) in commercial settings for security and other tasks, demonstrating real-world utility.

Funding

Raised over $125 million. This includes a $23.5M Series A2 round in March 2023 led by the OpenAI Startup Fund, and a $100M Series B round in January 2024 with participation from SoftBank and other major investors.