Agility Robotics has unveiled Digit 5, its next-generation humanoid robot, marking a significant shift from the company’s earlier machines that largely operated behind safety barriers in warehouses and factories. The teal-blue robot is engineered to work safely alongside humans in spaces built for people, a capability that addresses one of the biggest obstacles to commercial humanoid deployment. Digit 5 can detect people nearby and slow down or stop when they get too close; if a person keeps approaching, the robot can lower itself to the ground and shut off its motors entirely. According to Agility cofounder and chief robot officer Jonathan Hurst, the redesign reflects lessons learned from deploying earlier versions with customers including Amazon, Toyota, and logistics company GXO. „Digit 5 is the first machine that is the full, formal product that has come from customer requirements and solves a couple of the major, absolute blockers that we didn’t really know about until we actually engaged,” Hurst told Business Insider. The launch comes as Agility races against better-funded rivals such as Figure AI and Tesla to turn an early lead in humanoids into a sustainable business.
Beyond safety, Digit 5 is built to handle heavier work than its predecessor. Agility has replaced its signature backward-bending knees with a more human-like design that Hurst says gives the robot greater strength for lifting and squatting—a deliberate trade-off. „We don’t need to run a marathon with this robot,” Hurst said. „We need to lift heavy things.” Digit 5 can lift up to 50 pounds, roughly 40% more than the previous version, and squat lower to pick up objects. When its battery runs low, it can walk to a charging dock and connect via a port on its back, recharging in about nine minutes after roughly 90 minutes of work to enable more than 20 hours of daily operation. Its hands can also be swapped out for different jobs: one claw-like gripper is designed to move heavy bins, while future attachments could handle tasks requiring greater dexterity. „We expect a library of manipulators for the robot,” Hurst said. Digit 5 is expected to become available in North America in the first half of 2027, followed by the European Union and the United Kingdom later that year.
The financial picture surrounding Digit 5 is equally notable. Agility says it holds more than $300 million in multiyear orders for the robot, even as the business remains unprofitable, reporting $1.8 million in net sales and a $140 million operating loss in 2025, according to a recent securities filing. That filing also offered a rare glimpse into humanoid economics: in one illustrative model, Agility assumed a customer would pay about $200,000 for a Digit 5, plus a roughly $20,000 deployment fee and $36,000 a year for software and maintenance—about $400,000 per robot over five years. Agility cautioned that actual contracts would be negotiated individually. Few humanoid makers disclose pricing; Figure AI has stayed silent, Elon Musk has said Tesla’s Optimus could eventually cost $20,000–$25,000 to produce, and China’s Unitree Robotics advertises its smaller G1 starting at $13,500. Hurst said Agility does not plan to ramp up production simply to boost robot counts, contrasting its approach with that of „a lot of Chinese competitors.”
Agility’s ambitions extend beyond hardware. The company, led by CEO Peggy Johnson—the former Magic Leap chief and longtime Microsoft and Qualcomm executive—plans to become the first US humanoid maker to go public through a SPAC deal valuing it at about $2.5 billion, even as the case for humanoid robots remains hotly debated. Agility says it already has Digit robots deployed across nine customer facilities in North America, giving it an early commercial footprint that rivals are racing to match. With Digit 5 positioned as a safer, stronger, and more capable machine designed around real customer requirements, Agility is betting that humanoids can move from isolated pilots to everyday work alongside people—and that its head start can translate into a viable, publicly traded business.
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