In Episode 224 of The Robot Report Podcast, hosts Mike Oitzman and Eugene Demaitre recap the major robotics news of the week. Our guest this week is Michael LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation Robotics. The company is developing humanoid robots for deployment into challenging applications.
Mike LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation Robotics
Having been a major in the U.S. Marine Corps and a graduate of Harvard Business School, LeBlanc’s work sits at the intersection of national security, robotics, and leadership under pressure.
Previously, LeBlanc co-founded security robot provider Cobalt Robotics, where he raised $120 million from top-tier investors, led a 250-person team, and oversaw its acquisition.
At Foundation Robotics, LeBlanc is building next-generation, rugged humanoids for the U.S. Department of War and first responders. Mike also discusses the potential for the company‘s robots to someday build structures for human exploration of Mars.
Show timeline
- 4:37 – News of the week
- 15:35 – Interview with Michael LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation Robotics
News of the week
Melonee Wise to lead KUKA’s new software and AI organization
Robotics industry veteran Melonee Wise has taken a new position at industrial automation leader KUKA. She is now the chief product officer for the German company’s new software and artificial intelligence organization in Silicon Valley.
In 2023, Wise joined humanoid robotics developer Agility Robotics as chief technology officer, and she shifted into the chief product officer role in May 2024. Wise led Agility’s engineering team in addition to its newly formed product organization.
Wise has years of experience in the robotics industry. Prior to joining Agility in 2023, she was the vice president of robotics automation at Zebra Technologies. Before that, Wise was CEO of mobile robot maker Fetch Robotics until its acquisition by Zebra in 2021.
iRobot debt acquired by contract manufacturer as bankruptcy looms
The Robot Report is continuing to follow the latest developments around struggling robotic vacuum maker iRobot. In a recent SEC filing, the Bedford, Mass.-based consumer robot pioneer said a Chinese company has acquired its debt and that it is still looking for alternatives to bankruptcy.
Santrum Hong Kong Co., a subsidiary of Shenzhen, China-based Picea Robotics Co., has acquired a credit agreement from affiliates of The Carlyle Group worth $190.6 million in principal and interest, according to the filing.
“As of November 24, 2025, the company owed Picea $161.5 million for the manufacturing of products, $90.9 million of which was past due,” said iRobot. “The company and Picea are engaged in active discussions regarding a mutually agreeable resolution of the non-payment by the company of amounts owed to Picea.”
In short, iRobot is not currently able to pay its contract manufacturer, which is now also its primary creditor. The Roomba maker owes a total of more than $350 million.
Humanoid says its first bipedal robot can start walking just 48 hours after assembly
Humanoid has announced the HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal. This is the London-based company’s first humanoid robot, which it built from an initial design to working prototype in just five months.
The Alpha Bipedal achieved stable locomotion only 48 hours after final assembly, said Humanoid. It has a bimanual payload capacity of 15 kg (33 lb.).
Using NVIDIA‘s Isaac Sim and Isaac Lab, the Humanoid team trained more than 52.5 million seconds of reinforcement-learning locomotion data in simulation in only two days. This is equivalent to nearly 19 months of conventional training.
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