Your living room is quiet. On the sofa, a NEO is sitting. It is not sleeping. It is waiting. It is a humanoid robot designed for domestic use (Presse-citron). It is not there to impress in a laboratory. It is there to live with you. The question is no longer whether robotics will enter the home, but at what price, and above all, who holds the remote control when things get complicated.

Currently, SoftBank and 1X are in discussions for an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the startup (Presse-citron, Startup Fortune). The valuation of 1X is estimated at approximately $6 billion (Presse-citron, Startup Fortune). This is not just a corridor rumour. It is a deal that could change the game for the NEO, the robot that could become your next household service.

$499 a month: the real weight on your budget

The NEO is offered for purchase at $20,000 or via a subscription at $499 per month (Presse-citron, Startup Fortune). Look at that figure. $499 a month. It is not the price of a streaming subscription. It is the price of a car rental, or of several energy bills. For many households, it is a significant recurring expense added to the rent, food, and transport.

And what if you compare it with the purchase price of $20,000? The subscription model, on the other hand, smooths out the cost. It makes the object accessible, but it transforms it into a service. You no longer own a tool. You are renting a capability. And this capability has a monthly cost that does not disappear as long as the robot is in your home. Is your couple ready to bear this fixed budget line? Do your children see this robot as a toy, or as a family member that is expensive to maintain?

The NEO is designed for domestic use (Presse-citron). But a robot in the house is also a permanent presence. It moves around. The boundary between the tool and the intruder becomes blurred. At $499 a month, you are paying for this presence. You are paying for it to be there, ready to act. But are you ready for it to always be there?

Autonomy by default, human backup: who holds the remote control?

By default, the NEO robot operates autonomously (Presse-citron, Startup Fortune). It analyses, it decides, it acts. This is the promise of modern technology: freedom. You do not need to give it instructions for every move. It manages. But there is a limit. When it encounters a task it cannot master, it can be teleoperated by a 1X expert (Presse-citron, Startup Fortune).

Pay attention to this nuance. “Teleoperated” means that a human takes control remotely. The robot is no longer autonomous in that specific moment. It is a safety net. But it is also an intrusion. Imagine: the NEO hesitates before a complex task. It sends an alert. A human at 1X takes control. For a few minutes, it is no longer your robot acting, it is a human operator acting through it. Who is this human? What do they see? What do they do?

This mechanism is crucial. It reassures. It says: “Do not worry, if the robot gets stuck, someone takes over.” But it raises a disturbing question. To what extent is your private life shared with this expert? The NEO is in your living room. It may be in your kitchen. It may be in your bedroom. The boundary between technical assistance and surveillance becomes tenuous. Do you accept that a stranger, a 1X expert, has access to your intimate space via the NEO’s sensors?

Autonomy by default is seductive. But human backup is a technical reality. It is the price to pay for reliability. You do not want a robot to crash and break your dishes. You want it to be reliable. And for that, you need a net. That net is a human. And that human is a third party. At $499 a month, are you paying for automation, or for delegated surveillance?

SoftBank, on the verge of acquiring ABB’s robotics division: will the NEO become a household service?

SoftBank is no novice in robotics. The company agreed in October 2025 to buy ABB’s robotics sector for $5.375 billion (Startup Fortune). SoftBank is building an empire. It is acquiring key players. It is assembling the pieces. And now, it is looking at 1X. And the NEO.

If SoftBank acquires 1X, the NEO will no longer just be a startup product. It will become a piece of a larger puzzle. SoftBank has the experience, the capital, and the vision. The NEO, designed for domestic use (Presse-citron), could become the face of this new era. A global household service. Not just a robot that tidies up. A service that manages. That anticipates. That adapts.

Imagine the scene. The NEO is in your home. It knows when you come home. It knows when you sleep. It knows what you have bought. It knows what you have eaten. With SoftBank behind it, these data are no longer just data. They are value. They are a lever. The NEO no longer just acts. It learns. It predicts. It proposes. And you? You are at the centre of this system. But are you still the master? Or are you just the user of a service that knows you better than you know yourself?

The acquisition of 1X by SoftBank, if confirmed, would validate the model. It would tell the world: “Domestic robotics is a major market.” And the NEO, at $499 a month, would become the norm. The price of entry into the future. A future where the home is intelligent, but where the intelligence has an owner. And that owner is SoftBank. And the operator is 1X. And you, you are the customer. The customer who pays $499 a month for life to be easier. But is it really easier? Or is it just more surveilled?

The discussion between SoftBank and 1X is ongoing. The valuation is $6 billion. The NEO is there. It is in your living room, in imagination. It is ready. The question is no longer “if”, but “how”. How will you live with it? How will you manage the link with the human who can take control? How will you bear the cost? The NEO is not a toy. It is a service. And like any service, it has a price. And a price is something you bear. Or you refuse.

Perhaps tomorrow, you will receive an email. “Your NEO is available. Subscription: $499 a month.” You will read it. You will look at your home. You will see the tasks piling up. The dishes. The floor. The mess. You will see the NEO. You will see the human behind the NEO. You will see SoftBank behind the human. And you will wonder: do I want this future? Do I want my home to be piloted by a $6 billion company? Or do I just want the dishes to be done?