Can you buy a SoftBank robot? How to get Pepper or NAO

The SoftBank Robotics name is still tied to Pepper and NAO, but the two robots are no longer available through the same channel. NAO6 is ordered on quote from Maxtronics, a French company based in Issy-les-Moulineaux. A new Pepper has no official channel in Europe, and Maxtronics does not support it. Pepper+, the new model unveiled by SoftBank Robotics Japan, is offered only as a rental in Japan. The group’s service and kitchen robots (STEAMA, FLAMA, Servi Q) are being shown in Europe without public pricing.

How to buy NAO6: quote-only orders from Maxtronics

Maxtronics, Aldebaran’s successor

Maxtronics Robotics SAS presents itself as the former Aldebaran, and the old aldebaran.com domain now redirects to its website. Its menu shows three sections: NAO6, NAO Activities and a NAO7 project. The company claims “more than 20,000 NAO produced, sold and delivered”, more than 3,600 studies carried out with the robot, and a presence in more than 70 countries with more than 30 international partners. A dedicated sales email address is listed on its website.

This lineage stems from a series of events reported in the press. According to AFP, Aldebaran, founded in Paris in 2005 by Bruno Maisonnier, was owned by SoftBank Robotics Group from 2012, then bought in 2022 by Germany’s United Robotics Group. The Paris commercial court placed it in compulsory liquidation on 2 June 2025. The Robot Report says that in July 2025, Maxvision Technology Corp., a Shenzhen company specialising in biometric authentication, acquired Aldebaran’s key assets, including NAO and Pepper, with the aim of setting up a French subsidiary for R&D and customer service. Solutions Numériques puts the deal, carried out through an auction, at €900,000 for all the assets: patents, code and inventory. According to heise online, Maxvision plans to continue both product lines, with no layoffs and with production in China.

NAO6 price list: what is included and what is priced

The Maxtronics price list, consulted in its 31 March 2026 version, shows prices in euros excluding VAT. The robot itself has no public price and is ordered on quote. The robot package includes a NAO V6, its charger, its battery, online documentation, licences for the Choregraphe and Monitor software, and the SDK and API. The other items in the range are listed with a starting price.

On the technical side, Maxtronics gives an operating temperature range of 5 °C to 35 °C for NAO6.

Buying a new Pepper: no official channel in Europe

No support and no official retailer

On its support page, Maxtronics states that it “does not provide technical support for Pepper” and that its support is “limited to NAO 6”. It notes that Pepper was managed in turn by SoftBank Robotics, Aldebaran and United Robotics Group, and describes the last two as “permanently closed”. There is no official Pepper support centre in Europe. Maxtronics is looking for a European partner to take over sales, repair and support for the robot.

The same page announced the end of Pepper’s cloud services on 1 October 2026. Until that date, apps remained available for download from the Aldebaran app store. On the software side, Pepper 1.6 and 1.7 only run with NAOqi 2.5 (Python), while Pepper 1.8A and 1.8 support both NAOqi 2.5 and 2.9 (Android).

Pepper specifications on SoftBank’s Japanese site

SoftBank still presents Pepper on its Japanese website: 121 cm tall, with no price shown, since the price depends, according to the page, “on the setting or field of use”.

Pepper production discontinued

According to Reuters in June 2021, SoftBank halted Pepper production in 2020. AFP, in June 2025, dated the halt to 2021. Reuters added in July 2021 that production, carried out at a Foxconn plant in China, had been stopped and the line closed. SoftBank said at the time that it remained committed to Pepper.

Volume figures vary by source. One of Reuters’ sources mentioned 27,000 Pepper units built. The Robot Report and Solutions Numériques put the figure at around 17,000 Pepper units, out of an installed base of around 37,000 robots that also includes some 20,000 NAO. Solutions Numériques notes that the distributor RobotLAB had bought the NAO and Pepper lines for the United States and South America in 2020-2021.

Pepper+: rental only, in Japan

According to GIGAZINE, SoftBank Robotics announced Pepper+ on 2 February 2026. Its product page, published by SoftBank Robotics Japan, presents it as a “NEW MODEL” with more natural movements, a new tablet and AI features:

• an AI reception agent that recognises customers’ clothing and facial expressions;
• apps for an impromptu photographer, a musical and an AI quiz;
• apps designed for care facilities.

GIGAZINE notes that only the reception agent is available so far, with the other apps “in development”. The official page gives no hardware specifications. GIGAZINE, for its part, lists the following sensors:

• in the head: touch sensors, microphone, 2D camera and 3D sensor;
• in the body: gyroscope, hand touch sensors, infrared, laser, sonar and bumpers.

According to Japanese reports, SoftBank Robotics announced on the same day that Guinness World Records had recognised Pepper as the first mass-produced humanoid robot.

Pepper+ rental plans and prices

Pepper+ is available for rental only, with no purchase price listed. The official page details three plans, in yen:

• “AI活用” business plan: ¥79,800 per month, plus ¥9,800 in initial fees, with a one-year commitment.
• Short-term plan: ¥150,000 for one month of rental, plus ¥9,800 in initial fees. Extensions cost ¥5,000 per day.
• Care facility plan: from ¥39,800 per month, plus ¥120,000 in initial fees, for a minimum of one year.

Maintenance is included in the monthly payments. Content for the AI reception agent and delivery and collection are billed separately. The usual lead time for delivery is three to four weeks.

Installation requires several conditions:

• network access;
• a flat, hard floor with no slopes or steps;
• a clear radius of at least 90 cm around the robot;
• indoor use.

SoftBank’s service robots: STEAMA, FLAMA, BOTINKIT Omni, Servi Q

SoftBank Robotics Group describes itself as a “robot integrator”. Its 2026 news centres on service and kitchen robots, not humanoids. In a press release dated 1 October 2026, SoftBank Robotics UK Ltd. announced its presence at EquipHotel 2026, in Paris from 2 to 5 November, as part of the expansion of its food service solutions in EMEA. It is presenting four solutions there:

• STEAMA: automated steam cooking, serving a meal “in about 90 seconds”, with recipes from more than 800 brands. The robot launched in the United States on 1 May 2026, and its global rollout was announced on 3 September 2026.
• FLAMA: automated multi-step cooking, launched in the United States at the same time as STEAMA.
• BOTINKIT Omni: a solution for institutional catering that can prepare up to 30 portions at once, with a platform of more than 10,000 recipes.
• Servi Q: a service robot developed with Bear Robotics for tight spaces, for which SoftBank Robotics is the exclusive global seller. Launched in Japan on 28 September 2026, it is 35 cm wide and fits through 45 cm aisles, “the narrowest in its class” according to the company. Its ability to reverse is presented as an industry first as of 1 September 2026, based on a Bear Robotics study.

What we do not know yet

• Purchase price: there is no public price for NAO6 (on quote), for Pepper+ or for a used Pepper.
• Pepper: the official Japanese page does not say whether the robot is still sold. No European retailer or partner has been named, and Maxtronics is still searching.
• Pepper+: its availability outside Japan, its manufacturer and its official hardware specifications are unknown.
• Production under Maxvision and Maxtronics: the exact status of Pepper and NAO6 production is not known. The date Pepper production stopped remains uncertain (2020 according to Reuters, 2021 according to AFP), as does the exact number of units sold.
• NAO7: the existence and release date of NAO7 have not been confirmed.
• Service robots: prices, lead times and availability in France for STEAMA, FLAMA, BOTINKIT Omni and Servi Q have not been published.
• Group strategy: SoftBank Robotics Group has not set out any humanoid strategy.

See also: SoftBank Robotics, from humanoid pioneer to service robot integrator · Pepper and NAO: history, specifications and current status · Buying a humanoid robot in France · Humanoid robot prices