In the crowded field of humanoid robotics, where giants like Tesla and Boston Dynamics chase industrial might, a New York startup is betting on charm over power. Fauna Robotics emerged from stealth on Jan. 27, 2026, unveiling Sprout, a 3.5-foot-tall machine wrapped in sage-green foam, designed not for factories but for the intimate spaces of homes, schools and offices. At $50,000 a unit, it’s positioned as a developer platform to spark an ecosystem of applications, much like early personal computers ignited software innovation.
Sprout nods its rectangular head, raises windshield-wiper eyebrows to express curiosity, and offers grippers for handshakes, setting it apart from the sleek, imposing figures of competitors. “Most people in this industry take inspiration from the science fiction that we grew up with… We do from WALL-E and Baymax and Rosie Jetson,” said Rob Cochran, Fauna’s co-founder and CEO, in an interview with ABC News.
Fauna’s 50-person team, based in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, spent two years in secrecy building Sprout. Cochran, formerly at Goldman Sachs and CTRL-labs (acquired by Facebook), teamed with CTO Josh Merel, a DeepMind alum who co-authored a Nature paper on AI-trained virtual rats. VP of hardware Anthony Moschella, designer of Peloton gear, drew from Star Wars droids for the approachable aesthetic.
Engineering a Safe Companion
Sprout weighs about 50 pounds with 29 degrees of freedom, powered by an NVIDIA Jetson Orin, enabling steady walks on uneven floors and balance recovery from trips, as demonstrated in Fauna’s offices. It dances the Twist or Floss, grabs toy blocks or teddy bears, and rises from chairs unaided. Operators control it via game controllers, phone apps or VR headsets, and it maps offices to fetch break-room inventory while dodging obstacles. Research scientist Ana Pervan, ex-self-driving car engineer, called it “cute, and it’s not too humanoid… It’s like your buddy, your pal,” per ABC News.
Proprietary tech handles perturbations, and modular AI supports real-time programming. Unlike industrial bots, Sprout skips heavy lifting to prioritize safety in shared spaces—no gantries or cages needed. It can perch on chairs or stand at desks, addressing what Fauna calls the “deployment gap” in robotics, where prototypes rarely escape labs.
“We started Fauna with a simple premise: robots belong around people,” Cochran stated in the company’s press release on Yahoo Finance. The Creator Edition ships immediately, hand-delivered to pioneers like Disney, Boston Dynamics, UC San Diego and NYU, targeting retail, entertainment and home services.
Developer Platform in a Competitive Arena
Priced comparably to equipped Unitree models from China—around $50,000 fully loaded—Sprout appeals to U.S. buyers wary of tariffs and security risks. “Fauna is the first American company to be actively shipping robots as a developer platform,” Cochran told ABC News. Unitree’s lighter humanoids dominate conferences, but Fauna emphasizes domestic supply chains and human-centric design.
While Tesla’s Optimus eyes warehouses and Hyundai-backed Atlas targets auto plants by 2028, Sprout targets “people-friendly spaces.” Marc Theermann, Boston Dynamics’ chief strategy officer, praised it: “You take it out of the box and you can start walking it around immediately… Seeing their robot for the first time really lets you see the future a little bit,” as quoted in ABC News. Early adopters like Disney, with its theme-park bots, signal entertainment potential.
On X, robotics watchers noted specs: 107 cm tall, rubberized grippers and expressive neck, positioning it as a “soft hardware” trend leader for interaction over utility, per posts from @TheHumanoidHub.
Founders’ Pedigree Fuels Ambition
Cochran and Merel’s track record—DeepMind, CTRL-labs—brings AI locomotion expertise, honed in simulations. Moschella stressed cultural fit: “Let’s build a system that human beings actually want to be around,” rejecting designs where “if they fell on you, it’d be a real problem,” according to ABC News.
Fauna draws parallels to PCs and smartphones, fostering a developer culture for apps in social settings. WIRED highlighted interfaces like visual-perspective apps and LLM-driven commands, such as checking fridges, envisioning butlers or entertainers. “We’re right on the precipice now where you could build a companion that is present, engaging, delightful,” Cochran added to ABC News.
X buzz from @AP and @humanoidsdaily amplified demos, with developers eyeing it as a Unitree alternative for safe, interactive testing.
Challenges and the Path Forward
Critics question scalability at $50,000, but Fauna banks on software ecosystems lowering barriers over time. Unlike China’s cheaper base models, Sprout arrives ready-to-walk, with U.S. manufacturing dodging geopolitical hurdles. Early units went to labs exploring hospitality and research, per the Yahoo Finance release.
The startup sidesteps factories for social realms, where “strong, heavy” bots falter. Pervan’s enthusiasm underscores the appeal: not verging on creepy, but fun. As X users like @disclosetv note, it’s tailored for hotels, offices and homes.
Fauna’s launch, covered widely including by WIRED, positions Sprout to redefine humanoids. “If you squint, you can see how a robot like that would be welcomed into people’s homes,” Theermann observed, hinting at consumer horizons beyond developers.
Sprout’s Soft Revolution: The $50,000 Humanoid Aiming to Charm Its Way into Homes first appeared on Web and IT News.
