Sanctuary AI Phoenix
The general-purpose humanoid from Canada's Sanctuary AI — 170 cm, 70 kg, 25 kg payload, hydraulic hands with 21 degrees of freedom and a sense of touch, run by the Carbon control system. On a wheeled base since generation 8.
What it would mean for your event
Why Phoenix is on an events website
Clients know it from the media as "the robot with the best hands". It is not available for event hire, though — it was never sold and the company now sells software.
What our H2 and G1 do today
Walking among guests, gestures, handshakes and conversation in 13 languages; fine tactile manipulation is something no event robot offers yet.
Manipulation as the next step
For clients who want a robot that grasps objects we watch the gripper and hand market — buying a proven gripper is faster today than waiting for Phoenix.
Specifications (manufacturer data)
- Height / weight: 170 cm / 70 kg (generation 6 figures, 2023)
- Payload: 25 kg
- Speed: about 1.3 m/s (3 mph; not stated for the wheeled generation 8)
- Hands: hydraulic, 21 degrees of freedom, tactile sensing
- Base: generations 6–7 legs, generation 8 (2025) wheeled
- Sensors: depth cameras (gen 8: wider field of view and higher resolution), audio, telemetry; touch in the hands
- Control: Carbon AI: symbolic reasoning + language models, simulation, teleoperation, fleet management
- Total DoF / battery / compute: not published by the manufacturer
- Price: not published, the robot is not for sale
Capabilities
- Hydraulic hands with 21 DoF and touch — Sanctuary ranks third worldwide in humanoid-related patents according to Morgan Stanley
- Zero-shot in-hand manipulation demonstration (April 2026)
- Carbon: time to automate a new task cut from weeks to under 24 hours (generation 7)
- Teleoperation as a source of training data and a fallback for unknown situations
- Pilot in a Mark's (Canadian Tire) store in 2023: 110 tasks
- Partnerships with Magna (manufacturing, factory deployment) and Microsoft (Azure, behaviour models)
Where it is deployed
Retail (pilot)
The first commercial pilot of generation 5 in a Mark's store in Langley, January–March 2023.
Manufacturing (planned)
Magna International invested in April 2024 with plans to build Phoenix units and deploy them in its own plants.
Software for third-party robots
Since 2025–2026 Sanctuary deploys its AI on other manufacturers' industrial robots and claims task success above 99.5 %.
Availability at ROBOTio
Sanctuary Phoenix: ROBOTio does not currently hire out or sell this model. Sanctuary AI does not offer Phoenix commercially; the company focuses on software for other makers' robots. Looking for a robot for a corporate event? See the Unitree G1 and H2 from our event fleet — we help you choose the model and plan its role in the programme.
- Hire for events: no
- Sale / import: no — we follow its availability in Europe
- Alternative for events: Unitree G1 (130 cm) or H2 (180 cm) from our fleet
Manufacturer: Sanctuary AI (Sanctuary Cognitive Systems)
Sanctuary AI is based in Vancouver, founded in 2018 (Geordie Rose, Suzanne Gildert, Olivia Norton, Ajay Agrawal). It has raised more than USD 140M: a USD 58.5M Series A (2022), CAD 30M from Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund, investors Bell, EDC, Magna, Accenture, Verizon Ventures, Workday Ventures, BDC, InBC and Zeon. In November 2024 co-founder and CEO Geordie Rose left and the company laid off about 30 people; since June 2026 it is led by Daniel Friedmann (formerly MDA).
History and generations
Generation 5: store pilot in 2023. Generation 6 = Phoenix + Carbon, unveiled 16 May 2023 (170 cm, 70 kg, 25 kg payload, 20-DoF hands). Generation 7 on 25 April 2024 (more wrist and hand range of motion, miniaturised hydraulics, lower cost). Generation 8 on 7 January 2025: wheeled base instead of legs, optimised for data capture. A new 21-DoF hydraulic hand in late 2024, zero-shot manipulation in April 2026.
ROBOTio's view
We follow Phoenix for its tactile manipulation. For manipulation projects it is faster today to use a proven gripper on available robots; at events we deploy the Unitree G1 and H2.
- For manipulation: advice on grippers for available humanoids
- For events: Unitree G1 or H2 from our fleet
- For market watch: Sanctuary's Physical AI development
Documentation and sources
- Sanctuary AI — Phoenix unveiled (2023)
- Sanctuary AI — generation 8 for data capture (2025)
- The Robot Report — zero-shot in-hand manipulation
- The Robot Report — Magna partnership
- BetaKit — new CEO Daniel Friedmann (2026)
Frequently asked questions about Sanctuary Phoenix
- Can Phoenix be hired or bought?
- No. Phoenix has never been sold commercially and Sanctuary AI does not offer it as of September 2026; the company supplies software for other makers' robots.
- How much does Phoenix cost?
- A price was never published. Figures circulating on aggregator sites do not come from the manufacturer.
- Why does generation 8 have wheels?
- Sanctuary said bipedal legs are too frail to support a strong torso and that a wheeled base is better for high-quality data capture and lower cost.
- What is the Carbon system?
- A control platform combining symbolic reasoning with language models, simulation training, human supervision, teleoperation and fleet management.
- What is special about Phoenix's hands?
- They are hydraulic, with 21 degrees of freedom and tactile sensing; in April 2026 they demonstrated in-hand manipulation without prior training on the task.
- What alternative does ROBOTio offer?
- Unitree G1 and H2 with our own operators for events; for manipulation projects, advice on grippers and robots that are actually available.
Interested in Sanctuary Phoenix? Tell us what you are planning
Describe the event or project. Within 24 hours we reply with what we can deliver from our own fleet and what we will verify for you.
European specialist in the rental, sale and integration of humanoid robots.
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +420 608 486 486