Robotics startup IntBot and Singapore-based operations company Certis have formed a partnership to develop and deploy socially intelligent humanoid robots for enterprise and customer-facing environments, the companies announced on May 26, 2026. The effort will start with humanoid concierge and service-assistance systems, with initial pilots planned in Singapore.
From manipulation to interaction
The collaboration pairs IntBot's "General Social Intelligence" technology with Certis's experience running large-scale security, facilities and frontline services. The emphasis is on how naturally robots can engage people, rather than movement or task execution alone.
"With multimodal models maturing, the decisive bottleneck for embodied AI shifts from task manipulation to human interaction," said Lei Yang, co-founder and CEO of San Jose-based IntBot. "A robot's success in public spaces is increasingly measured by its ability to engage people, and Singapore's smart-infrastructure leadership makes it the ideal launchpad for physical AI."
Operational reliability as the differentiator
Certis, which is headquartered in Singapore and operates across markets including Australia and Qatar with a team of more than 25,000, will help turn IntBot's intelligence layer into practical operating models. "The next phase of enterprise robotics will not be defined by autonomy alone, but by how well robots can work with people in real operations," said Raahul Kumar, Chief Executive of International & Robotics and Chief Strategy Officer at Certis.
Singapore as a humanoid proving ground
The deal reflects a broader race to put humanoids into service roles. It echoes moves such as China's humanoid robot lifecycle management platform and large-scale industrial commitments including Hyundai's 25,000-unit Atlas deployment and Humanoid and Bosch's HMND 01 production push. The partners said they are working toward initial pilot deployments in Singapore as the technology matures.
Reporting based on coverage from AI Insider and PR Newswire.