HAYWARD, Calif., April 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — 1X, a leading U.S.-based AI and robotics company, today announced that its NEO Factory in Hayward, California has commenced full-scale production. This milestone launches the most vertically integrated humanoid robot factory in the United States and marks a major step in building advanced AI hardware and robotics manufacturing in America.
The factory is producing 1X’s flagship product: NEO, a safe, intelligent, general-purpose home robot designed to work seamlessly alongside humans in everyday environments.
“This is more than just a factory opening- it’s proof that the future of humanoid robotics is being built right here in the U.S.,” said Bernt Børnich, CEO and Founder of 1X. “We’re not dreaming about abundance; we’re manufacturing it. More production means more robots, and more robots mean the fastest path to physical AI. Production is happening now, and American consumers will be among the first in the world to welcome NEO into their homes.”
America’s First Vertically Integrated Humanoid Robot Factory
Spanning 58,000 square feet and currently employing more than 200 team members—with plans for significant expansion—the NEO Factory features fully vertically integrated hardware manufacturing and production lines.
1X designs and manufactures critical components in-house, including motors, batteries, structures, transmission systems, soft goods, sensors and more. From cutting metal parts to fully automated motor manufacturing lines that spin copper coils, 1X maintains end-to-end control. This approach sets the company apart from competitors that rely on Chinese suppliers for critical subsystems– it enables faster iteration, higher safety standards, and efficient scaling — giving 1X the capacity to build 10,000 NEOs per year, with plans to reach 100,000+ by the end of 2027.
Demand for NEO has already far exceeded initial expectations. On October 28th, 1X launched NEO to the world and sold out its entire first-year production capacity (over 10,000 units) in just five days.
Vikram Kothari, VP of Manufacturing & Hardware leading the factory, brings deep expertise in scaling complex supply chains from his eight years at SpaceX, where he oversaw Dragon, Starship, Raptor, and Launch Avionics programs:
“We’re building the world’s safest, most reliable humanoid robots—right here in Hayward, California. We’re creating 200+ high-skill American jobs with a vertically integrated stack, from components to final assembly. This is bottoms-up American manufacturing and innovation at its best: total control, extreme reliability, rapid iteration, and zero compromise on quality. NEO extends human capability so people can achieve more with their time.”
-Vikram Kothari, VP of Manufacturing & Hardware
NEO Production Underway – Consumer Shipments Begin in 2026
The Hayward facility marks a major step in 1X’s roadmap, with robots coming off the line being shipped to the company’s R&D Lab and Internal Home Testing, with first customer shipments of NEO planned for 2026. This positions 1X to deliver one of the world’s first consumer-ready general-purpose humanoids directly to American homes, transforming how people live and work.
By producing at scale and manufacturing critical components in the U.S., 1X ensures rapid delivery, localized support, and the ability to quickly incorporate customer feedback into future iterations.
Powered by NVIDIA Jetson Thor: Building NEO’s Onboard Brain
Every NEO rolling off the production line in Hayward will feature the latest NVIDIA Jetson Thor as the core of its NEO Cortex, AKA, the robot’s brain. This integration enables powerful real-time AI inference directly on the robot for safety-critical functions, perception, reasoning, and decision-making—without heavy cloud computings. 1X uses NVIDIA Isaac Sim and NVIDIA Isaac Lab open simulation frameworks for photorealistic robot training and learning environments and Isaac Lab to run parallel GPU-based reinforcement learning simulations in the cloud. The result is a more responsive, secure, and capable home robot that operates efficiently in dynamic human environments.
This close partnership with NVIDIA gives 1X a significant technological edge, combining world-class hardware, simulation frameworks and synthetic data generation with 1X’s vertical integration to accelerate the path to truly intelligent, autonomous humanoids.
“Humanoid robots require high-performance, real-time AI inference and continuous training and testing in simulation for safe and reliable operation,” said Deepu Talla, vice president of robotics and edge AI at NVIDIA. “By using NVIDIA Jetson Thor as the brain and the NVIDIA Isaac open robotics platform as its training ground, 1X is able to accelerate the development and deployment of intelligent robots like NEO that can work safely alongside humans.”
NEO Pricing and Availability
NEO is available via 1X’s online store [1x.tech/order] and comes in three distinct colors (Tan, Gray, Dark Brown). Customers interested in owning one of the first NEOs can purchase Early Access for $20,000, which includes priority delivery in 2026. There will also be a subscription model offering of $499/month.
About 1X
1X is a leading U.S. based AI and robotics company, developing NEO–the home robot. 1X’s mission is to create an abundant future through safe, intelligent humanoids.
For more information, visit www.1x.tech.
Media Contact:
Kendall Pennington
Head of Communications
1X Technologies
Email: [email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6e0945c7-a984-4a39-93ff-ee3742327dc8
