Robots, recruitment, and real talk: Insights from the Humanoids Summit 2025

Last week, Danielle Blake, Senior Consultant - Autonomy & Robotics, attended the Humanoids Summit, an event that brought together some of the brightest minds shaping the future of robotics. From founders and researchers to investors and manufacturers, the summit was a hive of innovation and collaboration. Danielle was invited to join a hosted a fireside discussion focused on one of the industry's most pressing challenges, scaling teams to meet the demands of building and deploying humanoid robots. Here's a look at her experience, key takeaways, and what it means for the future of talent in this space.

 

 

What was the event like as a whole? Talk us through what you got up to.

The Humanoids Summit was buzzing! You had everyone from robotics founders and investors to researchers and manufacturers in one place, all sharing where this tech is going next. I spent most of my time speaking with teams building humanoid platforms, their struggles when scaling, attending panels, and trying to find a quiet corner to grab a coffee and catch up on notes - but those corners were rare!

 

 

You were invited to speak on the Humanoids panel. How did that opportunity come about?

I was gratefully introduced to Modar the founder by another CEO I know, alongside working closely with several humanoid robotics companies on their hiring strategy, so when I was invited to speak from a talent/recruitment perspective I couldn’t say no – it was a rare chance to share what we see behind the scenes.

 

 

What was the panel focused on, and what perspective did you bring to the discussion?

The fireside chat focused on how companies are scaling teams to meet the demands of building and deploying humanoid robots. I brought the recruiter’s lens: where the talent bottlenecks are, what skill sets are in highest demand, and how startups can compete for world-class engineers when they’re up against the big players. And importantly how to KEEP that top talent.

 

Favourite moment of the conference?

Outside of demo-ing the robots and seeing them in action…honestly, the best moment was seeing how much momentum the field has gained - this felt like a turning point. The passion across the two days was unparallelled and it got me even more excited about the future of humanoids.

 

 

From your recruiter lens, how do you see this tech impacting the jobs and skills market over the next few years?

Humanoid robotics is going to reshape both sides of the job market. We’ll see a surge in demand for multidisciplinary engineers - people who understand hardware, software, and controls. But we’ll also see new types of roles emerge, especially in testing, safety, field operations, and deployment. The companies that win will be the ones who can build world-class teams, fast.

 

 

What was your go to conference snack?

Cookies and coffee. On loop.

 

 

Who was the most fascinating person you met or heard speak, and why?

It’s hard to choose just one, but three talks really stood out for different reasons. Pras Velagapudi from Agility Robotics gave a sharp and grounded talk on how humanoids can gain real-world skills. It was a great reminder that autonomy isn’t just about perception and planning - it’s about reliability in messy, unpredictable environments. One key point he made was that use case and industry context matter hugely- you can’t design a truly effective robot without knowing exactly what it’s meant to do, and where. That kind of focus is what will separate research projects from deployable products.

 

Grace Brown from Andromeda spoke about where technology meets empathy, and it brought a much-needed human lens to a technical field and if you’ve met their robot Abi you’ll understand this. It stuck with me - especially as we think about deploying robots in spaces designed for and used by people. And Aaron Prather from ASTM nailed the importance of standards in robotics. His quote - “standards are the baseline; innovation happens above this” really summed it up. We can't build scalable, safe systems without that foundation.

 

 

If you could sum up the whole experience in three words, what would they be?

Energising, Insightful and Connected.

 

 

 

Events like the Humanoids Summit don’t just spotlight cutting-edge technology, they highlight the people behind it. Danielle’s insights on the panel reinforced what we see every day: that building world-class robotics teams takes more than technical know-how, it takes strategy, speed, and a deep understanding of what drives top talent. As the field continues to evolve, we’re proud to be at the forefront, helping companies scale the teams that will power the next generation of robotics.