Misty II: how a developer robot stayed on as a lab platform

Misty II is a small robot that Misty Robotics in the US built for developers. The company passed its assets to Sweden’s Furhat Robotics in 2022, and the robot is still sold for research and education.

A developer robot from a Sphero spin-off

Misty II is a robot made in Boulder, Colorado, by Misty Robotics, a spin-off from Sphero. It was unveiled on 2 May 2018, with pre-orders at $1,499 for the first 250 units and $1,599 for the next 1,175. It stands 14 inches (about 36 cm) tall and weighs 6 lb (about 2.7 kg). The company had raised $11.5 million in venture funding. It was aimed at developers who program robots themselves rather than at general consumers.

Shipping, temperature checks, and an acquisition

Shipping began on 4 September 2019 with 500 early backers. Kickstarter had raised just under $1 million, and later buyers could get one from $2,399. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 the company offered a temperature-screening skill from $2,999 plus a monthly fee. In January 2022 Swedish robotics company Furhat Robotics acquired Misty Robotics’ business assets and said more than 1,000 Mistys were in use. In 2026 it is still sold through a Misty online store run by Furhat.

What the acquirer saw in it

At the time of the deal, Furhat co-founder and CEO Samer Al Moubayed said, “For us, Misty is the piece that was missing,” adding that it would help Furhat reach a larger market such as education. Reseller RobotLAB told customers that support would continue. Researchers kept using Misty II in experiments: in 2023 it helped parents and young children with maths talk in nine homes, and in 2025 it prompted 135 participants to break up time spent sitting.

Sold to researchers rather than consumers

Misty II was planned from the start as a platform for developers and researchers, not as a home companion. The company did not survive on its own, but the product continued in the acquirer’s research and education line. That is a different outcome from Jibo and Kuri, home robots of the same period that disappeared.

Who can repair, extend and keep using this product themselves?

What we haven’t confirmed

The current price in 2026 (Furhat pages give very different figures)
Whether the Boulder team and production continued after the 2022 acquisition
Total units sold (the 1,000-plus figure comes from the acquirer)
Whether units on sale now are newly made or remaining stock