PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 12, 2026 (Globe Newswire) — 1X is excited to announce the new 1X World Model, a breakthrough AI update for NEO that represents a major advance in humanoid robotics. The new 1X World Model allows NEO to turn any request into AI functionality on demand using a video model based on real-world physics. This is a big step towards a future where robots can learn on their own to do anything humans can do.
With this update, NEO leverages internet-scale video data fine-tuned based on robot data to perform AI tasks, even on objects and environments never encountered before. This approach closes the loop between digital intelligence and physical reality, allowing NEO to build on humanity's vast knowledge captured on video.
“After years of developing world models and making NEO's design as human-like as possible, NEO can now learn from internet-scale videos and apply that knowledge directly to the physical world. With its ability to transform any prompt into a new action, even without precedent, this is the starting point for NEO's ability to learn to master almost anything you can think of asking.”
– Bernt Børnich, 1X CEO and Founder
1X world model turns any prompt into an autonomous action
With this update, when you give NEO a simple voice or text prompt, NEO uses what it's focusing on to generate visualizations of future actions, and a built-in inverse dynamics model translates these into precise movements for NEO to complete your request.
“With the 1X World Model, we can turn any prompt into a fully autonomous robot action, even a task or object that NEO has never seen before.”
– Daniel Ho, AI Researcher, 1X
1X's latest video demonstration showcases NEO's ability to generalize beyond training data. For simple prompts like how to pack your lunch, NEO visualizes and fluidly executes even unfamiliar objects. What's even more impressive is that NEO handles entirely new tasks, such as operating a toilet seat, opening and closing a sliding door, ironing a shirt, and brushing human hair, without any previous examples in the dataset. This highlights the widespread transmission of human knowledge through world models.
Flywheel for self-learning robots
While traditional AI models for humanoid robots relied on data collected by human operators, the 1X World Model allows NEOs to collect their own data and learn new capabilities autonomously. This paradigm shift opens the door for robots to learn things on their own, accelerating the path to general purpose humanoids that continuously learn from experience.
Humanoid AI capabilities that scale to fit video models
Improving humanoid AI capabilities has long been bottlenecked by the speed at which human operators can collect data for robots, but the 1X World Model not only improves itself by allowing NEOs to collect their own data, but also benefits from improvements in the video model, given that the World Model uses a video model at its core.
Robust performance in dynamic and unpredictable environments
Traditional models have historically struggled with the changing lighting, clutter, or confusion often found in homes. The 1X World Model applies human-like understanding to overcome extreme variability and maintain composure amid rapid environmental changes. NEO can now generate and execute actions across a myriad of scenarios. This is the first development of its kind in the humanoid space.
Learn more about the 1X World Model
For more information, see our blog or watch the demo video here.
Price and availability
NEO is available from 1X's online store [1x.tech/order] Available in three different colors (tan, gray, and dark brown). Customers interested in owning the first NEO can purchase early access for $20,000. This includes priority delivery in 2026. A subscription model is also available for $499 per month.
Approximately 1x
1X is a leading US-based AI and robotics company that is developing the home robot NEO. 1X's mission is to create a prosperous future through safe and intelligent humanoids.
Media contact:
Kendall Pennington
1X Head of Communications
Email: [email protected]
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fe3770cd-6f5f-4bbc-a0ff-31e6d46e04ec.
