No more Nao and Pepper robots? Aldebaran Robotics insolvent
The manufacturer of the humanoid robots Nao and Pepper, Aldebaran Robotics, has slipped into insolvency. Whether and how it will continue is largely unclear.
A picture from better days: The Pepper robot from Aldebaran Robotics welcomes a visitor.
(Image: MikeDotta/Shutterstock.com)
The French robotics company Aldebaran Robotics filed for bankruptcy in mid-February and will probably no longer produce small humanoid Nao and Pepper robots, as BFM TV reports. The robots are particularly popular in science and among participants in the RoboCup, the soccer competitions for humanoid robots. A rescue plan is now to get the company back on track for the market. Redundancies are planned.
Aldebaran Robotics has been owned by the RAG-Stiftung Essen since 2022. However, the company has only made losses since 2019. A total of 150 million euros in debt has accumulated since then. The company was placed under insolvency administration in mid-February.
Job cuts planned
A rescue plan is now intended to turn things around and find a buyer for the robotics company. To this end, massive job cuts are planned. Around half of all employees are to be made redundant in order to save money. Internally, however, the effectiveness of the plans is being questioned. This is because the workload would remain the same and would then have to be carried out by significantly fewer employees.
A small humanoid robot Nao costs between 5,000 and 10,000 euros, while the slightly larger Pepper costs between 17,000 and 20,000 euros. Aldebaran Robotics has never been really successful since it was founded in 2005. The company has repeatedly had to rely on external funding. Most recently on the RAG-Stiftung, which abruptly stopped funding Aldebaran Robotics in the summer of 2024. Since then, the robotics company has become even more troubled and ultimately slipped into insolvency.
Apparently, there was not enough demand for the robots to keep the company going. However, the prices are not particularly attractive for robots that can only be used largely in research and for entertainment.
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At present, it does not look as if Nao and Pepper can continue to be produced. The management is currently negotiating with the insolvency administrators. If the RAG-Stiftung does not inject any more money and no buyer can be found, Aldebaran Robotics will be liquidated and the company's patents will be sold.
(olb)
