Paris-based Physical AI start-up building Europe's answer to Optimus
Headquarters
Paris
Employee
—
Models here
24
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UMA, short for Universal Mechanical Assistant, was founded in Paris in 2025 and went public in December 2025. The company is backed by Remi Cadene, who developed the first neural networks for Optimus at Tesla and founded the LeRobot platform at Hugging Face, as well as co-founders from Google DeepMind and Hugging Face. Teams work in Paris, London and Geneva.
In July 2026, UMA unveiled the design of its first humanoid, Northstar: human-sized proportions, neutral visor, soft exterior shell with visible joints, the first version on wheels. The platform's core is Real-Time Learning, which enables robots to learn new skills from demonstrations rather than being programmed.
UMA deliberately targets Europe as its first market and is in discussions with around 50 interested parties according to its own statements; pilot projects in logistics and industry are planned for 2026. Supporters include Greycroft and Kima Ventures, with Yann LeCun and Thomas Wolf serving as advisors.
Northstar
Humanoid (wheeled base) · Industry
Founding in Paris and public launch in December.
Presentation of the Northstar design and Real-Time Learning architecture at the Machina Summit in Paris.
No product sales yet; the company maintains one of its three locations in Geneva.
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