Key Takeaways
- • Minerva Humanoids raised $10 million in pre-seed funding led by General Catalyst, with Long Journey Ventures and Credo Ventures as co-leads, emerging from stealth on October 6, 2026.
- • The company built Roger, a purpose-built semi-autonomous humanoid robot designed to allow trained specialists to perform hazardous work remotely—including offshore oil and gas operations, explosive ordnance disposal, and public safety response—while keeping workers physically safe.
- • Roger is engineered to preserve the judgment, skill, and dexterity of human specialists who currently perform these jobs, allowing them to operate the robot from remote locations such as an office or home.
- • Approximately 7,000 energy workers die annually worldwide, with one fatality occurring roughly every 75 minutes on offshore rigs, explosive ordnance disposal sites, and hazardous material response operations—the core markets Minerva is targeting.
- • The company is launching its first paid pilots in fall 2026, backed by a investor syndicate that includes MVP Ventures, Kaya, RunwayVC, Compound, Founders Embassy, Hugging Face, Codecademy, YG, Walter Ventures, Tiny Ventures, Chaotica, and Babylon.
Summary
Minerva Humanoids emerged from stealth on October 6, 2026, announcing a $10 million pre-seed funding round led by General Catalyst. The robotics startup, founded by CEO Sandor Felber and CTO Maurice Rahme, is building humanoid robots specifically designed for the world's most dangerous occupations, particularly in onshore and offshore oil and gas operations and public safety work. The funding round included co-leads Long Journey Ventures and Credo Ventures, along with participation from over a dozen additional venture backers.
The company's flagship product, Roger, is a semi-autonomous humanoid robot engineered around the expertise of highly trained human specialists currently performing hazardous work. Rather than replacing workers, Roger extends their capabilities by allowing them to apply their specialized judgment and skill remotely—whether responding to suspected explosives at an airport or conducting hazardous energy site operations—while eliminating the physical danger of on-site presence. The robot preserves the dexterity and decision-making requirements of its human operators, enabling them to work safely from a remote location.
The addressable market is substantial and tragically urgent. Approximately 7,000 energy workers die annually worldwide in hazardous occupations, with a fatality occurring roughly every 75 minutes on offshore rigs, explosive ordnance disposal sites, and hazardous material response operations. Felber framed the mission directly: "People are dying every day doing jobs the rest of the world takes for granted. We didn't set out to replace the people doing them. We set out to build a robot that lets them do the job efficiently from the comfort of their office or home, without asking them to risk their lives for our safety or our energy."
Minerva is launching its first paid pilots in fall 2026, signaling near-term commercialization of Roger. The company's emergence from stealth and substantial funding round reflect investor confidence in both the technical viability of remote-operated humanoids for industrial hazard mitigation and the commercial opportunity in a market with high regulatory pressure and significant worker safety imperatives.
The company's flagship product, Roger, is a semi-autonomous humanoid robot engineered around the expertise of highly trained human specialists currently performing hazardous work. Rather than replacing workers, Roger extends their capabilities by allowing them to apply their specialized judgment and skill remotely—whether responding to suspected explosives at an airport or conducting hazardous energy site operations—while eliminating the physical danger of on-site presence. The robot preserves the dexterity and decision-making requirements of its human operators, enabling them to work safely from a remote location.
The addressable market is substantial and tragically urgent. Approximately 7,000 energy workers die annually worldwide in hazardous occupations, with a fatality occurring roughly every 75 minutes on offshore rigs, explosive ordnance disposal sites, and hazardous material response operations. Felber framed the mission directly: "People are dying every day doing jobs the rest of the world takes for granted. We didn't set out to replace the people doing them. We set out to build a robot that lets them do the job efficiently from the comfort of their office or home, without asking them to risk their lives for our safety or our energy."
Minerva is launching its first paid pilots in fall 2026, signaling near-term commercialization of Roger. The company's emergence from stealth and substantial funding round reflect investor confidence in both the technical viability of remote-operated humanoids for industrial hazard mitigation and the commercial opportunity in a market with high regulatory pressure and significant worker safety imperatives.
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