Minerva Humanoids has raised approximately $10M in pre-seed funding to build humanoid robots for hazardous work including bomb disposal. Its first robot, Roger, is a semi-autonomous humanoid aimed at explosive ordnance disposal, which means locating, handling and neutralizing unexploded bombs and munitions. Roger is built for jobs that put people inside blast zones, toxic gas or offshore danger. The design keeps a trained person in control of delicate handling while the robot takes the physical risk.
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What the $10M covers
The company press release via GlobeNewswire syndication says the round was led by General Catalyst, with Long Journey Ventures and Credo Ventures as co-leads stealth funding announcement. Minerva emerged from stealth on Oct. 6, 2026 with the financing.
The money funds Roger, a purpose-built machine developed from scratch to a working prototype in five months. CEO Sandor Felber previously worked on humanoids at MIT CSAIL and Tesla Optimus. CTO Maurice Rahme spent six years at Boston Dynamics as a technical lead on Stretch.
How Roger works
Roger uses shared autonomy, which splits control between a person and onboard software. A trained specialist pilots manipulation remotely with a VR headset while onboard Minerva Intelligence handles balance, navigation and fall recovery, according to Humanoids Daily reporting Roger autonomy report.
That split matters for bomb calls and rig work. Fine arm and hand moves stay under human judgment. Walking, posture and recovery run on the machine.
Where it would deploy first
Roger targets oil-and-gas operations and public safety, reports Tectonic mission areas overview. Listed tasks include explosive ordnance disposal, hazardous-material response, mine clearance and frontline CASEVAC.
The near-term users are rig operators and bomb-disposal teams. Minerva plans its first paid oil-and-gas pilot in fall 2026 and targets operational deployments in 2027. Specialists would work from an office or home while Roger enters the hazard.
What to check before a pilot
Treat Roger as pre-deployment technology going into trials. Buyers should confirm the task fit, site access and staffing before signing.
- Match one repeatable task, such as valve checks or suspect-package approach
- Define comms, safety perimeter and recovery if the link drops
- Assign a trained pilot and measure task time against the current method
- Require written results from the fall 2026 pilots before wider rollout
