$150,000PrototypeLG × KIST KAPEX (Nov 2025): Korea's national-AI humanoid bet. 40-50 DoF, 20-DoF tactile dexterous hands, EXAONE VLM, high-end Korean actuators. Field demos 2026; full commercialization within 4 years.
KAPEX is the AI-powered humanoid jointly developed by LG Electronics, LG AI Research and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) — unveiled in November 2025 (humanoidsdaily.com).
The platform combines bipedal locomotion, multi-tactile 20-DoF dexterous hands and LG's EXAONE visual-language model. 40-50 DoF total with high-end Korean-made actuators and precision gearing. LG / KIST positioned KAPEX as Korea's national catch-up to US + China; field demos planned for 2026, full commercialization within four years. KAPEX is the underlying research platform that influenced the consumer-facing CLOiD shown at CES 2026.