Watching · 21-DoF hydraulic hands · Magna, Microsoft · Not for sale

Sanctuary AI

The Vancouver company behind the Phoenix humanoid with hydraulic tactile hands — now mainly selling software.

Canada (Vancouver) · 2018 · General-purpose humanoid robot and Physical AI

About Sanctuary AI

Sanctuary AI (Sanctuary Cognitive Systems) is based in Vancouver, founded in 2018 (Geordie Rose, Suzanne Gildert, Olivia Norton, Ajay Agrawal). It raised more than USD 140M from investors such as Bell, Export Development Canada, Magna, Accenture, Verizon Ventures, Workday Ventures, BDC and InBC; the Canadian government contributed CAD 30M.

Phoenix went through generations 5 to 8: a store pilot at Mark's (2023), generation 6 with the Carbon control system (May 2023: 170 cm, 70 kg, 25 kg payload), generation 7 (2024) and generation 8 (January 2025) on a wheeled base. The 21-DoF hydraulic hands with touch demonstrated zero-shot manipulation in April 2026; according to Morgan Stanley the company ranks third worldwide in humanoid patents.

In November 2024 CEO Geordie Rose left and the company laid off about 30 people; since June 2026 it is led by Daniel Friedmann (formerly MDA). Strategy: "Physical AI" deployed on other makers' robots; Phoenix is not offered commercially.

For ROBOTio, Sanctuary is a cautionary tale and an inspiration: outstanding hands without a product to buy. We watch it for tactile manipulation; at events we deploy the Unitree G1 and H2.

Sanctuary AI models at ROBOTio

  • Sanctuary Phoenix — General-purpose humanoid: 170 cm, 70 kg, 25 kg payload, 21-DoF hydraulic hands with touch, Carbon system. Not for sale.

Who Sanctuary AI makes sense for

Retail (2023 pilot)

Mark's store in Langley — 110 tasks.

Manufacturing (planned)

Magna — production and deployment in its own plants.

Software

Physical AI on other makers' industrial robots.

Availability & service in Europe

  • Pilots in Canada and the USA
  • Phoenix is not offered commercially
  • The hydraulic hand is listed as a product in development
  • For manipulation projects it is faster today to buy a proven gripper than to wait for Phoenix — we advise on the choice.
  • At events we deploy humanoids from our own fleet.

Service and support status on ServisRobot.cz — The overview shows which models we service and to what extent.

Official website