KAI is a general-purpose humanoid robot developed by Kinetix AI (also known as Kai Robotics), a Shenzhen-based startup founded by core veterans of the XPENG humanoid R&D team. The robot was unveiled on April 26, 2026 at the "GIFTED" press conference in Shenzhen.
The defining specification is 115 degrees of freedom (DoF) across the full body — contemporary rivals typically operate with 20–45 DoF. The hands feature 36 DoF each (22 active, 14 passive joints). Passive joints act as mechanical buffers allowing the hand to conform to objects and absorb impacts. The full body is covered with synthetic tactile skin containing 18,000 sensing points capable of detecting forces as light as 0.1 N.
A 1.7 kWh semi-solid-state battery provides power with reduced thermal runaway risk. Intelligence is driven by the KAI World Model (Base, Action, and Evaluation modules). Training data is collected via the KAI Halo, a lightweight head-mounted device worn by human operators to capture first-person video, body poses, and point clouds.
Kinetix AI targets a sub-$40,000 price point for service, retail, and home assistance roles. Mass production is planned for late 2026.
Degrees of freedom across body segments
