Former Tesla Optimus engineer Remy Cadène launched UMA for European Northstar robot

A former scientific researcher at Tesla who participated in developing the intelligence of Elon Musk's humanoid robot Optimus decided to repeat this path — but now in Europe. Remi Cadène, CEO and co-founder of the Parisian startup UMA, presented a plan to create a lightweight AI-powered humanoid called Northstar. Bloomberg first reported on the company's plans.

Who is behind the Northstar project

Remi Cadène leads UMA as CEO and co-founder. Before launching his own company, he was part of the team that developed the intelligent core of Tesla Optimus — one of the most notable humanoid robotics projects in recent years. Now he is transferring this experience to European soil, basing the startup in Paris.

• Founder — Remi Cadène, former Tesla Optimus intelligence specialist
• The startup is called UMA, headquarters in Paris
• The developed robot is named Northstar
• The robot is described as lightweight and built on an AI foundation
• Bloomberg was the first to publish information about it

Why Europe needs its own humanoid

Until now, the humanoid robot race has been dominated almost exclusively by American (Tesla Optimus, Figure) and Chinese companies. The appearance of UMA signals Europe's attempt to get its own player in this category, rather than relying on imported developments. The choice of Paris as a base and the founder's experience in one of the most famous similar projects give the startup a reputation boost, rare for new companies in this niche.

The original source does not reveal details about Northstar's technical characteristics, release dates, and the volume of attracted financing — only the general positioning of the machine as a lightweight AI-powered humanoid is known.

What does this mean

The appearance of UMA expands the geography of the humanoid robot race and adds a European player with experience working on one of the industry's most recognizable projects — Tesla Optimus. If Northstar reaches real demonstrations, it will become a notable signal that Europe is not willing to stay on the sidelines of the humanoid robotics market, currently dominated by companies from the USA and China.