Hanson Robotics
Hanson Robotics is the Hong Kong company behind Sophia, the expressive-face humanoid, and the healthcare-oriented Grace.
- Type
- startup
- Headquarters
- Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Founded
- 2007
- Founders
- David Hanson
- Status
- active
- Employees (est.)
- n/d
- Disclosed funding
- n/d
- Valuation
- n/d
- Listed
- private
- Website
- hansonrobotics.com
What the record says.
Hanson Robotics was set up in 2007 in Dallas, Texas, by robot designer David Hanson, builder of the Philip K. Dick android, and moved to Hong Kong Science Park in 2013. Its selling point is Frubber, a patented elastomer skin for expressive faces, not walking or manipulation. Earlier robots included Albert Einstein HUBO, Han and Jules; the company's site counts just over 30 robots built in its whole history.
Sophia, unveiled in 2016, made the company famous through television and a widely mocked grant of honorary Saudi citizenship in 2017; researchers including Yann LeCun said the presentations overstated scripted software with a face. In January 2021 it announced mass production of four models, aiming at thousands of units that year, and launched Grace, a nurse-style robot, through the Awakening Health venture with SingularityNET. No volume production followed, and by 2026 Grace had been folded into the Sophia platform as a configuration and the venture's domain was parked.
A crowdfunded Little Sophia toy raised USD 481,139 from 2,685 backers in 2019 with delivery promised that December; by mid 2026 none had shipped and the target was a prototype in the third quarter of 2026. Hanson took an advisory role at WorkFar Robotics in September 2024. Sophia is still hired out for appearances and sold to research buyers on inquiry.
2 humanoids tracked.
Grace
Grace is a nurse-styled companion humanoid derived from Sophia, developed by Hanson Robotics and SingularityNET for elder care and hospitals.
Sophia
Sophia is the expressive-face humanoid from Hong Kong's Hanson Robotics, activated in February 2016. It became the first robot granted citizenship (Saudi Arabia, October 2017) and is mainly a media and conference presence.
At customer sites.
| Robot | Customer | Site | Since | Status | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophia | Conferences, governments and media (various) | Worldwide, including the United Nations in 2017 and the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Hong Kong | Mar 2016 | active | n/d |
Milestones.
Saudi Arabia grants Sophia citizenship
At the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Sophia is declared the first robot to receive citizenship of a country. The stunt draws global media coverage and criticism from AI researchers who call Sophia a puppet.
Hanson Robotics activates Sophia
Hanson Robotics activates Sophia, a humanoid head and torso with a patented skin that shows facial expressions. Sophia debuts at SXSW in March 2016 and becomes the most publicised social humanoid of the decade.
Startups, automakers, universities: who builds humanoids
108 makers, nine kinds. Startups hold 37 of the 44 humanoids you can order. Automakers, universities, big tech, conglomerates and NASA hold 45 robots between them and sell none of them.
The uncanny valley, and why the newest humanoids have no face
Masahiro Mori warned in 1970 that a nearly human face repels. Of the 182 humanoids in our record, four describe one, and none of the four does physical work for a customer.
Sources
- 01Hanson Robotics official siteHanson Robotics
- 02Hanson RoboticsWikipedia
- 03
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