Latest UMA news, funding rounds and robotics & AI coverage. $40M raised. 1 article tracked by The Robotics Media.
UMA (Universal Mechanical Assistant) is a Paris-based humanoid robotics startup founded by former Tesla Optimus AI scientist Remi Cadene, alongside co-founders Simon Alibert (ex-Hugging Face) and Rob Knight. Emerging from stealth in December 2025, UMA is building Northstar, a lightweight 40-kilogram humanoid robot designed to safely interact with humans in manufacturing plants, logistics warehouses and eventually homes.
The company is deliberately targeting Europe as its beachhead market, betting that the continent's aging workforce and dense industrial base make it fertile ground for a homegrown humanoid champion. UMA is backed by Greycroft, Relentless and Unity Growth alongside angel investors including Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, Datadog CEO Olivier Pomel and Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf.