Humanoid robots seem to be going mainstream, appearing on stage with Elon Musk, Jensen Huang and all over CES 2026. But in reality, humanoids are often still tele-operated by humans. And they’re far from ready for mass deployment in the home, where unpredictabilities like kids and pets also raise the stakes for privacy and safety concerns. Still, companies like 1X in the U.S. and Unitree in China are now selling AI home robots for $20,000 and up. CNBC went to the 2nd annual Humanoid Summit in California and CES to find out if home robots will be stuck in demo mode for years to come.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
1:29 Hype vs. reality
5:38 Stuck in demo mode
8:33 China and early adoption
Produced and Shot by: Katie Tarasov
Edited by: Evan Lee Miller
Additional Camera: Marc Ganley
Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt
Editorial Support and Camera: Kif Leswing
Additional Footage: 1X, Agility Robotics, Apptronix, Boston Dynamics, Figure AI, Getty Images, LG, Neo, Nvidia, Tesla, UBTech, Unitree, Weave Robotics, XPeng
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How Close Are We To Robots That Actually Do Chores?
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
1:29 Hype vs. reality
5:38 Stuck in demo mode
8:33 China and early adoption
Produced and Shot by: Katie Tarasov
Edited by: Evan Lee Miller
Additional Camera: Marc Ganley
Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt
Editorial Support and Camera: Kif Leswing
Additional Footage: 1X, Agility Robotics, Apptronix, Boston Dynamics, Figure AI, Getty Images, LG, Neo, Nvidia, Tesla, UBTech, Unitree, Weave Robotics, XPeng
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Watch CNBC on the go with CNBC+: https://www.cnbc.com/WatchCNBCPlus
About CNBC: From 'Wall Street' to 'Main Street' to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Want to level up your AI skills? Sign up for Smarter by CNBC Make It's new online course, How To Use AI To Communicate Better At Work. Get specific prompts to optimize emails, memos and presentations for tone, context and audience. Sign up today: https://cnb.cx/47ELu8O
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC on Threads: https://cnb.cx/threads
Follow CNBC News on X: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC on WhatsApp: https://cnb.cx/WhatsAppCNBC
#CNBC
How Close Are We To Robots That Actually Do Chores?