EQT has partnered with US robotics company 1X to make as many as 10,000 humanoid robots available to its global portfolio, marking one of the most ambitious private equity–backed adoption plans for general-purpose robotics to date. 

The agreement gives EQT’s more than 300 portfolio companies early access to 1X’s commercial production capacity and integration expertise. Adoption decisions will be taken individually by each company, but the partnership sets the foundation for one of the world’s first large-scale commercial rollouts of humanoid robots.

The companies will focus on applications in logistics, industrial software, facility operations, warehousing, manufacturing, and healthcare. Pilots are set to launch in the United States in 2026, with rapid scaling across Europe and Asia to follow.

1X, backed by EQT Ventures, is the developer of NEO, promoted as the first ready-to-ship humanoid robot. Founder and CEO Bernt Øivind Børnich said: “This partnership brings humanoid robotics into the real economy. EQT’s global reach and operational expertise make them the ideal partner to help deploy our technology safely, responsibly, and at scale.”

Ted Persson, lead partner at EQT Ventures, said humanoid robotics is now moving from fiction into deployment. “This isn’t about replacing people, it’s about giving them superpowers,” he said. He added that offering the technology across EQT’s portfolio could help companies address labour shortages, strengthen safety, and improve productivity.

The partnership reflects EQT’s wider objectives in industrial resilience and digital transformation. Both organisations emphasise human-centred deployment, with robots designed to work safely alongside employees.

If executed at scale, the initiative would strengthen 1X’s position among global robotics leaders and underline private equity’s growing role in accelerating commercial adoption of AI-enabled humanoid systems.

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