Sanctuary AI - Robotergalaxy

Country	Canada
Founded	2018
Head office	Vancouver
Press material	No press images released "The content on or available through Sanctuary's sites may not be copied, modified, framed, mirrored, scraped, distributed, commercialized or otherwise used or exploited in any way without Sanctuary's express prior written consent."
Website	sanctuary.ai/

Who they are. Sanctuary AI is the short name of Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporation. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. Its own release for the seventh Phoenix robot gives that founding year and city.

Several founders came from D-Wave and Kindred, two earlier Canadian technology firms. Co-founder Geordie Rose led the company as chief executive in the early years. The board later appointed Daniel Friedmann, the former chairman, as chief executive. Co-founder Olivia Norton speaks for the company on product and technology.

Independent reports put the money raised at about 75.5 million Canadian dollars in a Series A round announced in 2022. Backers named in that coverage include Bell, Magna, Verizon and Workday. The company has since announced further investment, including from the Japanese materials firm Zeon.

What they build. The best known product is Phoenix, a robot shaped like a person. The sixth version, shown in 2023, stands 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 155 pounds. The company lists a top load of 55 pounds, a top speed of 3 miles per hour, and hands with 20 degrees of freedom. Degrees of freedom means the number of separate ways a joint can move.

Phoenix went through eight hardware generations between 2018 and 2024. The eighth version swapped legs for a wheeled base. The company said customer feedback showed two legs were too frail to carry a strong working torso.

The robots run a control system the company calls Carbon. Sanctuary AI describes its work today as Physical AI, meaning artificial intelligence that drives real machines. It now puts that software on industrial robot arms made by others, and names FANUC and Universal Robots as supported brands. It also builds custom grippers and tools for the end of those arms.

A separate hand programme continues. The company says it has miniaturised 60 of its own hydraulic valves into a forearm-sized package. Its current hand has 17 degrees of freedom. Sanctuary AI lists this hand as in development, not as a product you can buy.

What they are known for. In January 2023 the company ran a week-long pilot at a Mark’s clothing store in Langley, British Columbia, with Canadian Tire Corporation. It reported 110 retail tasks completed correctly, including picking, packing, folding and labelling. That made it one of the first humanoid robots tried in a real shop.

Its 2026 claim is a wire plug insertion job at a large car parts supplier. The company reports a success rate above 99.5 percent and a cycle time of 2.54 seconds per plug. It calls this a world first for that task, which is the company’s own claim and not independently verified here. It also says the work led to its first paid order.

Patents are the other talking point. The company claims more than 80 granted United States patents and more than 250 patent assets worldwide. A Morgan Stanley research report ranked it third for humanoid-related patent filings, and the company repeats that ranking.

How they sell. Sanctuary AI sells to factories and large companies, not to the public. The website offers a commercial enquiry form and asks about fleet size and hardware of interest. There is no price list, no online shop and no published delivery time.

What the company sells today is the software and the integration work, running on robot arms you buy elsewhere. Humanoid robots are listed as a future step on its own roadmap. Whether its hands or any humanoid will ever be sold as separate products is not stated.

Sources

What changed

2 Oct 2026 Entry created.