Paris (France) (AFP) – Humanoid robots able to perform tasks from grape harvesting to welcoming visitors were front and centre at France's Vivatech trade fair this week, with European firms looking to fill niches beyond what dominant Chinese giants can offer.
Issued on: 19/06/2026 - RFI
Mirokai from France's Enchanted Tools already welcomes people at hospitals and airports © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP/File
French company Enchanted Tools was showing off its Mirokai, a "social" robot with long orange ears and wide blue eyes.
Able to communicate in over 50 languages, prototypes of the Paris-based firm's machine are already out in the wild welcoming people to hospitals and airports, marketing chief Richard Malterre said on a Vivatech stage.
The start-up hopes its first mass-produced models will arrive by the end of this year.
"At least 60 percent of the robot is manufactured in Europe, and we're fighting to keep it that way," Malterre told AFP.
But some of the AI robotics know-how is "not necessarily available" in Europe, he said, such as the graphics processors from American chip giant Nvidia that power Mirokai's brain as well as the broader generative AI boom.
'Dark factories'
When it comes to sheer robotics production capacity, China is unrivalled thanks to companies including Unitree and Agibot.
French company Enchanted Tools was showing off its Mirokai, a "social" robot with long orange ears and wide blue eyes.
Able to communicate in over 50 languages, prototypes of the Paris-based firm's machine are already out in the wild welcoming people to hospitals and airports, marketing chief Richard Malterre said on a Vivatech stage.
The start-up hopes its first mass-produced models will arrive by the end of this year.
"At least 60 percent of the robot is manufactured in Europe, and we're fighting to keep it that way," Malterre told AFP.
But some of the AI robotics know-how is "not necessarily available" in Europe, he said, such as the graphics processors from American chip giant Nvidia that power Mirokai's brain as well as the broader generative AI boom.
'Dark factories'
When it comes to sheer robotics production capacity, China is unrivalled thanks to companies including Unitree and Agibot.
PAL Robotics' Francesco Ferro shows off machines that can harvest grapes
© JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP/File
Their androids' tightly choreographed displays wowed visitors to Vivatech, the latest fair to show them off in recent months.
Around 87 percent of the 13,000 humanoid robots deployed worldwide in 2025 rolled off a Chinese production line, according to the UK-based consultancy Omdia.
"China is definitely on the forefront" as its companies increasingly show off "dark factories" where robots work largely without human supervision, said Joern Buss, a robotics expert at the consultancy Arthur D. Little.
Nevertheless, Europe is "catching up" behind Japan and Korea, he added, boasting "some good robotics players" including longstanding firms.
New players on the European scene include Germany's Neura, which builds humanoid industrial and household robots as well as a platform for training them to carry out human tasks.
The company recently announced it had raised $1.4 billion.
"We get requests for everything, even dentists, everyone is calling us and asking if they can have a robot as a supporter, because they can't find people," chief executive David Reger told AFP.
Their androids' tightly choreographed displays wowed visitors to Vivatech, the latest fair to show them off in recent months.
Around 87 percent of the 13,000 humanoid robots deployed worldwide in 2025 rolled off a Chinese production line, according to the UK-based consultancy Omdia.
"China is definitely on the forefront" as its companies increasingly show off "dark factories" where robots work largely without human supervision, said Joern Buss, a robotics expert at the consultancy Arthur D. Little.
Nevertheless, Europe is "catching up" behind Japan and Korea, he added, boasting "some good robotics players" including longstanding firms.
New players on the European scene include Germany's Neura, which builds humanoid industrial and household robots as well as a platform for training them to carry out human tasks.
The company recently announced it had raised $1.4 billion.
"We get requests for everything, even dentists, everyone is calling us and asking if they can have a robot as a supporter, because they can't find people," chief executive David Reger told AFP.
China's Unitree is one of the giants of the sector
© JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP/File
Like other advanced economies around the world, Europe faces an ageing population that could squeeze the labour supply in both manufacturing and services.
Reger called robots like Neura's the continent's "last chance", saying "Europe does require this economic pillar to sustain" itself.
He cited familiar challenges for European tech firms including tight regulation and a tougher search for financing than competitors in the United States.
But Reger has no plans to uproot Neura's business, which is collaborating with German car component suppliers Bosch and Schaeffler on factory automation.
He vaunts Neura's order book of over $1 billion.
Data protection
"If all robot production goes to Japan or China, that could be a big problem when it comes to sovereignty," said Francesco Ferro, chief executive of Spain's PAL Robotics.
His company was at Vivatech showing off its latest models bolted together in Barcelona.
Like other advanced economies around the world, Europe faces an ageing population that could squeeze the labour supply in both manufacturing and services.
Reger called robots like Neura's the continent's "last chance", saying "Europe does require this economic pillar to sustain" itself.
He cited familiar challenges for European tech firms including tight regulation and a tougher search for financing than competitors in the United States.
But Reger has no plans to uproot Neura's business, which is collaborating with German car component suppliers Bosch and Schaeffler on factory automation.
He vaunts Neura's order book of over $1 billion.
Data protection
"If all robot production goes to Japan or China, that could be a big problem when it comes to sovereignty," said Francesco Ferro, chief executive of Spain's PAL Robotics.
His company was at Vivatech showing off its latest models bolted together in Barcelona.
Robots have been a star visual attraction at recent tech trade shows
© JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP/File
One is a black biped that has been dubbed Kangaroo, while the Tiago machine is fitted with jointed arms that have been put to use in logistics as well as picking grape harvests.
Robotics developers use vast quantities of data to train their machines' movements, and they collect still more information as they carry out their tasks.
The continent should aim to create "a totally European supply chain, without thinking only about price", as that could lead prospective clients to buy Chinese robots, Ferro said.
That would risk seeing valuable or sensitive data "falling into the wrong hands", he warned.
French-American start-up Genesis AI plans to re-shore production of its Eno multifunctional robot next year after making it in China.
Prospective customers include "the big industrial base in France, Italy and Germany," co-founder Theophile Gervet told AFP.
Enchanted Tools' Malterre also believes the demand exists, and "I'm confident in our ability and creativity to endure".
"We need to be ready for a fight, not throw in the towel."
© 2026 AFP
One is a black biped that has been dubbed Kangaroo, while the Tiago machine is fitted with jointed arms that have been put to use in logistics as well as picking grape harvests.
Robotics developers use vast quantities of data to train their machines' movements, and they collect still more information as they carry out their tasks.
The continent should aim to create "a totally European supply chain, without thinking only about price", as that could lead prospective clients to buy Chinese robots, Ferro said.
That would risk seeing valuable or sensitive data "falling into the wrong hands", he warned.
French-American start-up Genesis AI plans to re-shore production of its Eno multifunctional robot next year after making it in China.
Prospective customers include "the big industrial base in France, Italy and Germany," co-founder Theophile Gervet told AFP.
Enchanted Tools' Malterre also believes the demand exists, and "I'm confident in our ability and creativity to endure".
"We need to be ready for a fight, not throw in the towel."
© 2026 AFP
French startup unveils non-humanoid robot as AI race moves to physical machines
French robotics startup Genesis AI on Tuesday unveiled "Eno", its first general-purpose robot, marking a step toward bringing advanced AI from online chatbots into physical machines. Backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the company says the wheeled robot is designed to extend human capabilities rather than mimic human form, with commercial deployments planned from late 2026.
Issued on: 16/06/2026
By: FRANCE 24
French startup Genesis AI launched "Eno", a non-humanoid AI robot that has human-like hands and folds into its base. © via Genesis AI
Genesis AI, the French robotics startup backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, unveiled its first general-purpose robot on Tuesday, as AI capabilities expand beyond chatbots and into physical machines.
The robot, called "Eno", breaks from the humanoid design usually favoured by leading manufacturers, featuring a wheeled base rather than legs, a foldable tower and hands that the company says match the form of a human hand.
Driven by advances in AI, the global robotics market is expanding rapidly, sparking debate over its impact on employment, though technical challenges, mostly about processing power and battery life, remain.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed 53 percent of Americans were concerned that AI would put them or someone in their household out of work.
Founded in early 2025, Genesis AI has raised $105 million (€90.6 million), one of France's largest and matching the record seed round of Mistral AI – Europe's leading AI company. Genesis AI's valuation was not immediately available. Eno runs on Genesis's own AI model and is not built to look like humans, but to extend human capabilities, according to the company.
Genesis AI plans to begin production and targeted customer deployments by the end of 2026, starting with logistics and manufacturing customers, followed by hotels, hospitals and consumers.
In a statement, Schmidt said the robot's breakthrough will not replace human expertise, but rather "amplify it" to unlock what he called "one of the largest economic opportunities of the AI era".
Genesis AI has built dozens of units so far and plans to scale up production in the second half of 2026, Vivian Sun, Vice President of Commercial and Strategy at Genesis AI, told Reuters. Sun said the wheeled base was chosen because most industrial customers operate on flat floors, adding that legs would only make sense for use cases like climbing stairs.
"We are mimicking humans in capabilities, not in form. Humans can go up and down, and so does the robot, but through this foldable design."
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
Genesis AI, the French robotics startup backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, unveiled its first general-purpose robot on Tuesday, as AI capabilities expand beyond chatbots and into physical machines.
The robot, called "Eno", breaks from the humanoid design usually favoured by leading manufacturers, featuring a wheeled base rather than legs, a foldable tower and hands that the company says match the form of a human hand.
Driven by advances in AI, the global robotics market is expanding rapidly, sparking debate over its impact on employment, though technical challenges, mostly about processing power and battery life, remain.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed 53 percent of Americans were concerned that AI would put them or someone in their household out of work.
Founded in early 2025, Genesis AI has raised $105 million (€90.6 million), one of France's largest and matching the record seed round of Mistral AI – Europe's leading AI company. Genesis AI's valuation was not immediately available. Eno runs on Genesis's own AI model and is not built to look like humans, but to extend human capabilities, according to the company.
Genesis AI plans to begin production and targeted customer deployments by the end of 2026, starting with logistics and manufacturing customers, followed by hotels, hospitals and consumers.
In a statement, Schmidt said the robot's breakthrough will not replace human expertise, but rather "amplify it" to unlock what he called "one of the largest economic opportunities of the AI era".
Genesis AI has built dozens of units so far and plans to scale up production in the second half of 2026, Vivian Sun, Vice President of Commercial and Strategy at Genesis AI, told Reuters. Sun said the wheeled base was chosen because most industrial customers operate on flat floors, adding that legs would only make sense for use cases like climbing stairs.
"We are mimicking humans in capabilities, not in form. Humans can go up and down, and so does the robot, but through this foldable design."
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
