Genesis AI unveils GENE-26.5 model with humanoid robotic hand
Genesis AI, a robotics startup that raised a $105 million seed round in July 2025, has unveiled its first model, GENE-26.5, along with a human-sized robotic hand designed in-house. The company, co-founded by CEO Zhou Xian and president Théophile Gervet, decided to go full stack after realizing the need for hardware control. The hand mimics human size and shape, enabling data collection to train models for tasks like cooking, lab work, and piano playing. A sensor-loaded glove serves as a real-life double for data collection. The startup has offices in Paris, California, and London, with a team of 60. Investors include Eclipse, Khosla Ventures, Bpifrance, HSG, Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, Daniela Rus, and Vladlen Koltun. Genesis plans to reveal a full-body robot soon.
Key facts
- Genesis AI raised a $105 million seed round in July 2025.
- The company unveiled its first model, GENE-26.5, named for May 2026.
- The robotic hand has the same size and shape as a human hand.
- The hand can perform tasks like cooking, playing piano, and solving Rubik's cube.
- A sensor-loaded glove collects data for training.
- Co-founders are Zhou Xian (CEO) and Théophile Gervet (president).
- Gervet was previously a research scientist at Mistral AI.
- Investors include Eric Schmidt, Xavier Niel, Daniela Rus, and Vladlen Koltun.
Entities
Institutions
- Genesis AI
- TechCrunch
- Eclipse
- Khosla Ventures
- Bpifrance
- HSG
- Mistral AI
Locations
- Paris
- France
- California
- United States
- London
- United Kingdom
- Europe