Israeli startup Mentee Robotics just demonstrated that the barrier to operating a humanoid robot might soon be as simple as speaking. The company released a video showing its MenteeBot autonomously handling complex, multi-step tasks—like locating and fetching a specific soda from a kitchen—based entirely on natural language voice commands. Apparently, the next-gen home helper won’t need a user manual, just a conversation.
This leap in usability was showcased alongside a more grueling industrial task. In a separate, unedited 18-minute video, two MenteeBot V3 humanoids worked in tandem in a warehouse setting. The duo successfully moved 32 boxes from eight different stacks onto four rolling racks, a process that was, according to the company, 100% autonomous with zero human teleoperation. The bots demonstrated stable locomotion and manipulation, even coordinating to avoid collisions in a shared workspace.
Founded in 2022 by AI and computer vision experts Prof. Amnon Shashua (also the founder of Mobileye), Prof. Lior Wolf, and Prof. Shai Shalev-Shwartz, Mentee Robotics is developing humanoids that combine advanced AI with in-house hardware. The V3 robot stands 1.75 meters (5'9") tall and can carry a payload of up to 25 kg (55 lbs). Its decision-making is handled by onboard compute, eliminating reliance on cloud connectivity and potential latency issues.
Why is this important?
The key differentiator for Mentee Robotics isn’t just building a capable robot, but making it remarkably easy to deploy. By successfully integrating large language models for command interpretation with real-time 3D scene mapping, the company is lowering the technical barrier for humanoid operation. Instead of requiring engineers to program specific routines, an end-user can simply tell the robot what to do. This “mentoring” approach, where the robot learns from a few demonstrations, could drastically accelerate adoption in both logistics and eventually, domestic environments. While competitors focus on speed and raw strength, Mentee is betting that the most useful robot is the one that actually understands you.
