---
title: Forget Humanoid Robots. Mimic Says You Only Need the Hands
description: Swiss startup mimic raises $16m to scale AI-driven dexterous robotic hands that outpace humanoid robots in factories – faster, cheaper and nearer deployment.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2025-11-03T11:15:21.000Z
updated: 2026-04-30T11:45:03.066Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/forget-humanoid-robots-mimic-says-you-only-need-the-hands
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/mimics-Humanoid-Robot-Hands-Close-Up.webp
categories: Startups, Science & Tech
content_type: Spotlight
region: Switzerland
publication: Sovereign Magazine
about:
  - type: Organization
    name: mimic
    description: "mimic, a Zurich-based physical AI and robotics company, enables robots to handle complex, dexterous tasks autonomously. The core focus is developing an AI foundation model and humanoid robotic hands which make human-level dexterity deployable across industries.\n\nBy combining advanced AI, scalable hardware, and a unique solution to the data scarcity in robotics, the company is building a foundation for the next generation of intelligent automation – robots that can finally do what people do, at the scale industry demands. mimic was founded by Stefan Weirich (CEO), Stephan-Daniel Gravert (CPO), Elvis Nava (CTO), Benedek Forrai (Founding Engineer) and Robert Katzschmann (Scientific Advisor). Learn more at mimicrobotics.com ."
    url: https://www.mimicrobotics.com/
---

Billions of dollars are flowing into humanoid robots that barely exist on factory floors. [Tesla planned to deploy 5,000 Optimus units](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/tesla-s-25-trillion-robot-bet-could-reshape-human-machine-communication-evolution) in its own factories this year but media reports indicate [only a few hundred were completed](https://textad.biz/article/atlas-2-vs-optimus-hyundai-tesla-battle-for-humanoid-edge) by mid-2025. Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot carries a price tag between $140,000 and $150,000, with commercial launch still years away. Figure AI has raised over $600 million at a $2.6 billion valuation yet hasn’t achieved mass deployment. Meanwhile, workers training Tesla’s robots report they tumble over half the time when performing tasks that require bending or leaning.

![Founders of mimic Stephan Stefan Elvis L R 1024x572](https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/Founders-of-mimic-Stephan-Stefan-Elvis-L-R-1024x572.webp)

![Wire Harnessing with mimics Robot 1024x576](https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/Wire-Harnessing-with-mimics-Robot-1024x576.webp)

![Team Photo mimic with Robot Stations 1024x575](https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/Team-Photo-mimic-with-Robot-Stations-1024x575.webp)

[material waste in OLED display manufacturing](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/hummink-s-fountain-pen-technology-tackles-the-16-billion-problem-display-makers-can-see-but-c) is a major challenge across the tech industry. Zurich-based [mimic](#about-mimic) is taking a deliberately different approach. ‘Humanoids are exciting, but there aren’t many industrial scenarios where the full-body form factor truly adds value,’ says Stephan-Daniel Gravert, co-founder and chief product officer at mimic. The company just raised $16 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Elaia and Speedinvest to prove that dexterous robotic hands paired with standard robot arms can deliver what humanoids promise, faster and cheaper.

The funding brings mimic’s total capital to over $20 million. The company is betting that the robotics race won’t be won by whoever builds the most human-like android, but by whoever solves the unglamorous problem of making robot hands work like human ones.

## Dexterity Is the Real Bottleneck

Simple grippers handle repetitive motions fine. Complex manipulation requiring human-like hand movements remains largely unsolved. Research shows [dexterous manipulation](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat8414) is still mostly at laboratory stage, not deployed in real-world industrial settings despite decades of work.

Robots need real-world physical data that’s expensive and time-consuming to collect. Unlike language models that train on internet text, laboratories typically generate data through simulation aided by limited human demonstrations. [Humanoid robots at around $50,000 per unit](https://www.forbes.com/sites/ethankarp/2025/10/29/humanoid-robots-in-manufacturing-timelines-cost-and-opportunity/) remain out of reach for most small and medium-sized factories, particularly when task-specific automation can be cheaper and more reliable.

## How Mimic Captures Real-World Dexterity

Mimic’s approach starts on actual factory floors. Skilled workers wear the company’s proprietary data collection devices during normal shifts, capturing detailed hand movements from live production settings without disrupting operations. This solves the data scarcity problem by gathering demonstrations from environments where the work actually happens.

The AI trains via imitation learning on these real-world demonstrations. Mimic’s humanoid robotic hands then reproduce the techniques on standard off-the-shelf robot arms. ‘Our general purpose AI models allow us to automate manual labour in a way that simply was not possible before,’ says Elvis Nava, co-founder and chief technology officer at mimic. ‘Thanks to our unique focus on human-like dexterity and human data, we are competitive at the robot foundation model layer as well as the application layer.’

The physical AI models enable autonomous reaction to changing object positions, handling disturbances and self-correction. The robots operate in environments designed for humans rather than requiring specially configured spaces. Mimic pairs AI-driven dexterous robotic hands with proven, off-the-shelf robot arms to deliver capabilities in a way that’s simpler, more reliable and rapidly deployable than full humanoid systems. The company is already piloting with Fortune 500 manufacturers and global automotive brands, alongside partnerships with [multinational logistics providers](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/the-million-phone-calls-keeping-your-packages-moving-and-why-ai-is-about-to-answer-them-all).

## From ETH Zurich to Factory Floors

Founded in 2024 as an [ETH Zurich spinoff](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/mosaic-soc-edge-ai-chip-ar-glasses), mimic brings together a multidisciplinary team of 25 engineers, researchers and operators. The company has secured non-dilutive funding from Switzerland’s federal funding agency and was selected for the AWS Generative AI Accelerator, a programme supporting early-stage companies applying advanced AI to real-world challenges.

Switzerland has deep roots in industrial automation. ABB Robotics, headquartered in Zurich, holds roughly [20% of the global industrial robotics market](https://new.abb.com/news/detail/107115/abb-to-invest-280-million-in-its-european-robotics-hub-in-sweden) and is investing $280 million to expand its European manufacturing footprint. The company manufactures 95% of robots sold in Europe locally, supporting reshoring efforts across the continent.

‘We make dexterity deployable at scale, closing the gap between what AI can do in the lab and what factories actually need,’ says Stefan Weirich, co-founder and chief executive at mimic. Demand for the company’s products is[ outstripping supply](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/the-ai-workers-already-clocking-in-at-dhl-and-ryder), with Gravert predicting full-scale commercial deployments within the next one to two years.

## Europe’s Pragmatic Counter-Move

The global robotics race is heavily tilted towards Asia and North America. Investment has concentrated in US and Chinese companies pursuing full humanoid systems. Goldman Sachs projects the humanoid and dexterous robotics market could reach [$38 billion by 2035](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/from-skype-to-starship-how-tech-veterans-are-building-the-next-billion-dollar-service-economy), within a broader robotics market estimated between $200 billion and $1 trillion by 2040.

Andreas Schwarzenbrunner, general partner at Speedinvest, positions mimic as Europe’s pragmatic response. ‘At Speedinvest, we’ve always believed that Europe’s strength lies in marrying world-class engineering with foundational research. With mimic, we see exactly that: a platform that unlocks human-level dexterity with frontier AI and solves billion-dollar problems on factory floors today.’

## The Technical Breakthrough

Clément Vanden Driessche, partner at Elaia, points to mimic’s proprietary hand design, foundation models and novel data acquisition methods as enabling ‘autonomous, versatile manipulation’ that unlocks a previously untapped segment of the automation market. Vincent Faber, investment manager at Elaia, notes that demand for flexible automation solutions continues to grow as traditional robots prove too rigid for many applications.

The $16 million seed round will accelerate foundation model development and robotic hand production. Mimic is addressing one of the most challenging problems in physical AI whilst industrial adoption of full humanoid systems remains limited despite massive investment. [European tech startups](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/swiss-startup-chipmind-says-europe-s-43bn-chip-bet-missed-the-point) are increasingly finding innovative approaches to compete with larger international players.

If mimic’s bet pays off, the lesson will be clear: sometimes the most practical solution isn’t the most futuristic one. Solving that specific problem might matter more than building robots that look like us.

**About mimic**

mimic, a Zurich-based physical AI and robotics company, enables robots to handle complex, dexterous tasks autonomously. The core focus is developing an AI foundation model and humanoid robotic hands which make human-level dexterity deployable across industries.

By combining advanced AI, scalable hardware, and a unique solution to the data scarcity in robotics, the company is building a foundation for the next generation of intelligent automation – robots that can finally do what people do, at the scale industry demands. mimic was founded by Stefan Weirich (CEO), Stephan-Daniel Gravert (CPO), Elvis Nava (CTO), Benedek Forrai (Founding Engineer) and Robert Katzschmann (Scientific Advisor). Learn more at mimicrobotics.com .

[Website](https://www.mimicrobotics.com/)