The US shut out foreign robots, and only one humanoid made it through

This summer the US shut its market to foreign robots. On July 28 the Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices, humanoids included, to its Covered List of equipment considered a national security risk. A new model on that list can't get FCC authorization, and without it you can't import, market or sell it in the country.

Yesterday the first humanoid got out. The US Department of War granted Conditional Approval to Lumi, a robot from San Francisco startup Lightberry, and the FCC exempted it from the list the same day. The same notice cleared forklifts, pallet trucks, Omron platforms and a drone, but Lumi is the only humanoid on it. The company's post about it on X passed 100,000 views overnight.

The approval came with strings. Lightberry promised to swap every sensor, the onboard computer and all the software for its own, so it's clear what is watching and listening next to people. US manufacturing starts with the body, head and hands, with the rest to follow. That wording suggests the original hardware isn't American, and the company itself advertises Lumi's compatibility with China's Unitree G1, the most popular research platform. The approval depends on that plan: break it or lie in the application and the robot goes back on the list.

Lumi itself is 4'2" (127 cm), yellow and looks like a cartoon character, which makes sense since half the team came from Pixar and Disney. It chats, greets visitors, tells stories, takes photos and looks things up. It's sold to businesses, the Founder Edition costs $39,990 and shipping is promised in 2026. The startup was founded in 2025 by Ali Attar and Stephan Koenigstorfer.

The news instantly spawned a pile of $LUMI memecoins, which the company has nothing to do with.

Bottom line: in America you can now sell a humanoid only after proving to the government that everything inside is your own.