SINGAPORE, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Sharpa's newly debuted full body robot, North, played fully autonomous ping-pong rallies with human opponents, drawing crowds that cheered as the volleys continued. For four straight days—eight hours a day—Sharpa opted for a live game rather than a scripted showcase. Sharpa also introduced CraftNet, an end-to-end hierarchical VTLA (vision–tactile–language–action) model designed to advance fine manipulation. Together, these milestones underscore Sharpa's integrated hardware, software, and AI capabilities. For Sharpa, AI robotics is a mission to return people's time back to us, as they put:
"We manufacture time by making robots useful."
In May 2025, Sharpa introduced Wave, a dexterous robotic hand with 22 active degrees of freedom, 1:1 human scale and a proprietary dynamic tactile array. Wave entered mass production and began shipping in October 2025. At CES, North demonstrated advanced fine manipulation capabilities powered by Wave, completed four fully autonomous demonstrations: robot photography, ping-pong rallying, windmill assembly, and card dealing, showcasing precise and consistent performance.
Throughout the show, Sharpa ran live sessions for eight hours each day and maintained strong on-site engagement. North captured more than 2,000 instant photos and assembled more than 300 windmills. The windmill task, in particular, stood out for its long-horizon autonomy, requiring more than 30 consecutive successful steps to complete. This is one of the longest-horizon tasks ever demonstrated for fully autonomous manipulation. The demonstrations quickly spread across social media and drew huge attention from robotics practitioners. Sharpa expects to release the production version of North in mid-2026.
"Robots can already dance and backflip, but manipulation remains the real bottleneck for useful, autonomous robots," said Alicia Veneziani, Sharpa's Global VP of GTM and President of Europe. "At Sharpa, we focus on productivity from day one, which is why we started with the hardest part, the hand."
"Tactileless is the new blindness"
Sharpa also introduced CraftNet. Built on Sharpa's multi-system manipulation architecture, which mimics the human system of reflexes and higher functions, CraftNet combines two complementary layers for reliable fine manipulation: System 0, the Interaction Brain, and System 1, the Motion Brain, to optimize "last-millimeter" interaction. It quickly became a standout topic, because it is critical to whether a robot can move from impressive demos to reliable work. Sharpa will share updates on CraftNet in phases.
"Last millimeter is 90% of the challenge"
Collectively, both CraftNet and North reflect Sharpa's integrated hardware-and-software approach to scalable autonomous manipulation, which is a breakthrough for real-world deployment. Sharpa sees expanding opportunities across retail, restaurants, and hotels, and ultimately the home, where robots can move beyond novelty and begin taking on meaningful work in everyday settings. By enabling robots powered by CraftNet to take on repetitive, tedious, and sometimes dangerous work, every manual task they assume becomes a deposit into humanity's "time bank." In this way, Sharpa fulfills its mission as a manufacturer of time—by making robots truly useful.
Sharpa was co-founded by Shaoqing Xiang, David Li, and Kai Sun. The company employs more than 100 people globally, with backgrounds spanning leading AI, autonomous driving, and robotics companies.
About Sharpa
Founded in 2024, Sharpa is an AI robotics company focused on building ultra-high-performance robots and core components for future general-purpose robotic applications. Sharpa's mission is to manufacture time by making robots useful.
Sharpa's global headquarters and R&D are based in Singapore, with a business operation center in Mountain View, USA, and its manufacturing R&D center in Shanghai, China.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Sharpa Aims to "Manufacture Time" via Its CraftNet VTLA Model, and Stuns CES 2026 with Live Autonomous Demos for Fine Manipulation
HONG KONG, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Organized by the Innovative Entrepreneur Association ("IEA") and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency ("CCIDA"), the Design Licensing and Business (DLAB) Support Scheme held its 7th edition's Kick-Off Ceremony today at the United Centre in Admiralty, announcing the 39 selected local design companies for the 7th DLAB Support Scheme. These companies span a wide range of creative sectors and represent the new generation of Hong Kong's design talent. Through the scheme, they will receive training, professional consultancy, and business matching opportunities to further expand their brand licensing potential.
The organiser is honoured to have Miss. Yvonne IP Man Yee, Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, as the Guest of Honour and to give a speech. She was joined by Mr. Zacharias CHENG, President of IEA, Ms. Cherrie CHONG, former President of IEA, Mr Cyril CHEUNG, Vice President of IEA and Ellen MOK, General Secretary of IEA, to officiate at the launch ceremony. Guests and representatives from the 39 selected companies gathered for a group photo, marking a vibrant and celebratory moment. The event also featured a keynote sharing by Mr. Samuel CHOY, General Manager of Bliss Concept Ltd, who explored the latest trends in design licensing. In addition, the alumni of previous DLAB cohorts shared their success stories, offering valuable inspiration and practical insights to this year's participants.
Since the 1st edition, DLAB has successfully supported over 300 local design companies, driving the development of Hong Kong's design licensing industry. The scheme provides professional training in marketing, brand building, and business operations, along with professional consultancy and business matching services, helping enterprises seize licensing opportunities and expand into the Chinese Mainland and international markets.
For its 7th edition this year, the scheme offers two application categories:
- Category 1: Companies established for no more than 6 years (between November 6, 2019, and November 5, 2025), primarily engaged in design or licensing, with IP launched for no more than 6 years. Applicants must have full ownership of the IP rights of the creative content, such as original character designs, pattern designs, illustrations, etc.
- Category 2: Companies established for 6 to 12 years (between November 6, 2013 and November 5, 2025), with IP launched for no more than 6 years. Applicants must have full ownership of the IP rights of the creative content, such as original character designs, pattern designs, illustrations, etc.
Selected companies will have their participation in the late-January 2026 Greater Bay Area Study Mission fully subsidised, strengthening ties with Mainland enterprises and exploring the market potential. In addition, they will also enjoy a preferential booth at a special rate of HK$4,000 for first-time DLAB participants and HK$6,000 for returning companies – to showcase at the DLAB Hong Kong Pavilion of the Hong Kong International Licensing Show 2026, held from April 27 to 29, 2026. They will present their creative achievements alongside over 600 international and local IPs, further enhancing Hong Kong design's global visibility.
Mr. Zacharias CHENG, President of IEA, stated at the launch ceremony, "DLAB has now reached its seventh edition, witnessing the continuous growth of Hong Kong's design industry. This year, for the first time, we are proud to announce the 39 selected companies, representing a new generation of creative power. Through training, exchange opportunities, and exhibition platforms, we hope these brands will go further, connect seamlessly with international markets, and showcase Hong Kong's spirit of originality to a
broader global stage".
For more details of the 7th DLAB, please visit www.dlabhk.com.
About Innovative Entrepreneur Association (IEA)
Innovative Entrepreneur Association is a non-profit making organisation, with the aim to foster the spirit of "Innovative Entrepreneurship" in Hong Kong, the Mainland and all over the world. With the cooperation with the government and other organisations, IEA helps the start-up companies acquire more experience and strategies in order to enhance their competitiveness. IEA always strives to promote Hong Kong as world-leading "Creative and Entrepreneurial Capital".
Website: http://www.iea.org.hk.
DLAB Logo
There are four letters in the logo of DLAB, "D" stands for Design, "L" stands of Licensing, "A" is And while "B" is the short form of "Business".
About Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA)
The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA), formerly known as Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) since 2009, was established in June 2024. CCIDA is a dedicated office under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) to provide one-stop services and support to the cultural and creative sectors with a mission to foster a conducive environment in Hong Kong to facilitate development of the arts, culture and creative sectors as industries. CCIDA's strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, promoting cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary collaboration, promoting industrialisation of the arts, culture and creative sectors under the industry-oriented principle, and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and our positioning as the East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Website: https://www.ccidahk.gov.hk.
Event Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1S2jERf8jv-FJRhcWxeJf1HIOP6JMTFCo?usp=drive_link
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
The 7th "Design Licensing and Business (DLAB) Support Scheme" Grandly Launched 39 Selected Local Design Companies Driving Hong Kong Design Brands to Expand Licensing Opportunities
