Sanctuary AI

Hydraulic dexterous-hand pioneer (Phoenix humanoid) now licensing its physical AI to industrial robots

Startup · Prototype · Humanoid startup · Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada · Founded 2018 · sanctuary.ai

Profile

Vancouver-based Sanctuary AI built the Phoenix humanoid around miniaturized hydraulic hands with tactile sensing. In 2026 it shifted strategy to deploying its physical AI on existing industrial robots, reporting a 99.5%+ success rate in an automotive wire-plugging proof of concept. Japan's Zeon invested in May 2026.

Notes Daniel Friedmann, formerly board chair, became CEO in June 2026, succeeding interim CEO James Wells.

Leadership

• Daniel Friedmann, CEO (from June 2026)

Flagship robots

• Phoenix Humanoid
  General-purpose humanoid; research platform, not for sale
• Hydraulic dexterous hand Dexterous hand
• Physical AI for industrial robots AI model

Funding and valuation

Trademarks

No US filings since 2025 (last checked Oct 15, 2026).

Source: USPTO Trademark Search, matched on the company’s legal names. Rechecked on the 1st and 15th of each month. A filing shows intent to use a name in the US, not a launched product.

Competitors

Companies with overlapping products. Direct = same customers and same job; Adjacent = overlapping technology or market, different focus.

• Physical Intelligence

  Adjacent competitor

  USRobot foundation model

  Both sell robot AI to other makers: Physical Intelligence builds the general-purpose π robot foundation models, while Sanctuary AI built the Phoenix humanoid with hydraulic hands and now also licenses its physical-AI software.

  Sources (2)

  • Sanctuary AI (company website)
  • Physical Intelligence (company website)

• Robot Era

  Adjacent competitor

  CNHumanoid startup

  Both make dexterous hands: Robot Era makes the STAR1 humanoid and XHAND dexterous hands, while Sanctuary AI built the Phoenix humanoid with hydraulic hands and now also licenses its physical-AI software.

  Sources (2)

  • Sanctuary AI (company website)
  • Robot Era (company website)

• Sharpa

  Adjacent competitor

  SGHumanoid startup

  Both make tactile dexterous hands: Sharpa makes the SharpaWave tactile dexterous hand and robots that run a Dairy Queen store, while Sanctuary AI built the Phoenix humanoid with hydraulic hands and now also licenses its physical-AI software.

  Sources (2)

  • Sanctuary AI (company website)
  • Sharpa (company website)

Recent news

• Aug 29, 2026 — Sanctuary now also sells a robot 'brain' for industrial arms Forbes
• May 15, 2026 — Zeon invests and partners on hand materials Sanctuary AI

Sources

• Sanctuary AI built a robot body. Now it's also selling a robot brain (Forbes) (Aug 29, 2026)
• Sanctuary AI expands physical AI strategy to industrial robotics (Sanctuary AI) (Aug 27, 2026)
• Zeon invests in Sanctuary AI and partners on materials for dexterous robotics (Sanctuary AI) (May 15, 2026)
• Robotics startup Sanctuary AI appoints former MDA exec as CEO (BetaKit) (Jun 26, 2026)
• Daniel Friedmann Appointed CEO of Sanctuary AI (Sanctuary AI) (Jun 26, 2026)

Confidence: medium.

Suggest a correction