Boulogne-Billancourt, June 6, 2025 — In a decisive move that signals the accelerating convergence of automotive and robotics technologies, Renault Group has announced the successful closing of a minority investment in Wandercraft, a pioneering French company renowned for its AI-enabled robotic exoskeletons. This strategic investment is complemented by a commercial partnership aimed at co-developing a new generation of intelligent, mobile robots for industrial applications, with broader ambitions in medical and service robotics.
Wandercraft, recognised globally for its leadership in self-balancing medical exoskeletons, brings to the table a robust technological foundation in mobility robotics. Its exoskeletons, currently improving quality of life for people with reduced mobility, are now evolving towards autonomous mobile platforms suitable for factory floors. With Renault Group’s manufacturing and design-to-cost expertise, the partnership is set to drive the large-scale industrialisation of these advanced systems.
Introducing ‘Calvin’: A Next-Gen Robotic Workforce
At the heart of this partnership lies Calvin, a forthcoming family of next-generation robots. Designed initially for Renault Group’s own manufacturing sites, Calvin will be engineered to automate strenuous, repetitive, and ergonomically challenging tasks. The ambition is twofold: to enhance workplace safety and ergonomics for factory workers, and to boost operational productivity through faster, more efficient assembly processes.
“This partnership with Wandercraft is a forward-looking move,” said Thierry Charvet, Chief Industry and Quality Officer of Renault Group. “It will allow us to accelerate on automation and to develop robots for our specific auto industrial use, giving us the opportunity to concentrate our people on more value-adding tasks and alleviate operators from painful and non-ergonomic duties. In the end, it makes a lot of sense to combine Wandercraft’s unique expertise and technology in exoskeletons and robots with Renault Group’s strong industrial capacity and design-to-cost know-how to bring the production of robots at scale.”
From Clinic to Assembly Line: The Future of Robotics at Scale
The collaboration is not limited to in-house factory deployment. It lays the groundwork for wider commercialisation of robotic solutions, including Wandercraft’s next-generation exoskeleton, Eve. By tapping into Renault Group’s proven ability to scale manufacturing efficiently and cost-effectively, the partnership aims to accelerate Eve’s path to market—making advanced mobility aids more affordable and accessible, while opening new business frontiers in service robotics.
“Renault Group’s investment marks a defining moment for Wandercraft,” noted Matthieu Masselin, CEO and co-founder of Wandercraft. “This partnership will boost our ability to build and scale high-impact, low-cost robotics that improve the everyday lives of real people—whether it’s helping individuals with disabilities walk or supporting industrial workers through automation — on the factory floor, in clinics and at home.”
A Vision for Human-Centric Automation
As industries continue to seek a balance between efficiency and workforce wellbeing, this partnership represents a paradigm shift—one that fuses human-centric robotics with automotive-grade scale and precision. Wandercraft’s intelligent mobility systems, now backed by Renault Group’s engineering and manufacturing infrastructure, could become a cornerstone of the next industrial revolution: a future where robots and humans work in harmony.
With the Calvin project underway and plans to industrialise both robots and exoskeletons, Renault Group and Wandercraft are poised to lead not just in innovation, but in redefining how we think about labour, automation, and accessibility. This alliance is more than a technological leap—it’s a commitment to inclusive progress.
