A Robot Vacuum Company, Dreame, Just Built an AI-Defined Jet-Powered Super Car. Yes, I’m Serious.
History has shown us that the biggest leaps in human creation and innovation come from unexpected places. Now, Dreame, a robot vacuum company, is developing the world's smartest (and fastest) EV: Meet the NEXT 01 and NEXT 01 JET Edition.
On Monday, April 27, 2026, I walked through the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco (after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge) to peruse the incredible smart devices built by China’s high-end robotics company, Dreame (pronounced Dreamy). I wasn’t there to check out their tech-filled smart glasses, or their gorgeous watches, phones, ocean-surface cleaning robots, smart dryers or hair curlers. I was there to watch the silk be drawn from the NEXT 01 and NEXT 01 Jet Edition.
If you’re thinking, “‘Jet?’ Like, a jet-propelled aircraft built for high-speed flying against intense G-forces?” Yes, that’s the right jet. A robot vacuum company has built and successfully tested a jet-powered EV that’s rumored to go from 0-60 in 0.9 seconds.
They’ve already built an ultra-luxe SUV across the pond that has nearly 2,000 horsepower, so that wasn’t super surprising to me. Until I saw it. Two jets were put onto the back of what looks like a McLaren/Corvette hybrid, packed with industry-leading safety technology and AI-integration. But don’t let me spoil it all for you. Here’s what else I learned.
This story is 100% human-researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience, and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks. I was Dreame’s guest for this reveal, but all opinions and impressions are my own.
How The Heck Did Dreame Go From Vacuums to EVs?
That’s what I asked myself when I first walked into the Palace’s event center. I was so perplexed by the seemingly giant leap between a smart watch that tracks your steps to a car that can reportedly adjust its chassis and suspension settings based on the weather because of AI. And then I remembered, iconic and powerful companies like Porsche and Lamborghini started as tractor companies. They went from making farm equipment to some of the most expensive, sought-after, and fastest supercars in the industry.
The company’s Next Project traces back to the SkyAxis Program at Tsinghua University, where founder Yu Hao began exploring autonomous driving. And that makes sense. A robot vacuum uses AI to map your house, detect and avoid objects, empty itself, and resume work on its own. Dreame is now leveraging that logic and its expertise in high-speed digital motors—tech that traditionally powers devices at up to 200,000 RPM—to push the boundaries of automotive powertrains and motion systems.
So, in a way, an EV can be engineered like a giant, robot vacuum—and Dreame’s engineers even said that. Because of the tech they’ve already developed, the Next 01 will be able to drive itself to your workplace while also being able to detect and avoid obstacles, pass other vehicles (safely, of course), navigate construction zones, busy highways, and more. Then, when you get to work, it can even park itself after roaming through a parking lot. Once you start to see the bigger picture, the translation from vacuums to EVs makes a lot more sense.
Dreame Says the NEXT 01 Will Be More than a Car, Because It Can Connect And Work With Other Dreame Bots
In the age of AI, the mention of an AI assistant always conjures mixed results. As a journalist, I’m very wary about AI being in literally everything I touch. But in cars, AI seems to make a lot more sense. Part of Dreame’s software-defined EV (which they said they don’t like the phrase because it means a car is simply obeying human rules, not evolving and learning, which the Next 01 can supposedly do) reveal was introducing Metis. Metis, not all that unlike other LLM AI systems like Gemini, is a conversational AI-assistant that can understand commands without using specific language like voice assistants from other automakers.
Metis is designed to function as what Dreame calls an “emotional companion” that has a “brain” that can learn and adapt to you rather than act as a simple utility. Dreame claims the assistant will learn to predict and respond to user needs by analyzing behavior and environmental context, moving the smart cockpit from reactive execution to proactive assistance. This AI integration also allows for seamless cross-device coordination, connecting the vehicle to the rest of Dreame’s “human-car-home” ecosystem, including home robotics and wearable devices.
Here’s an example of what that would look like: Your morning starts with an AI-powered coffee machine that has received health data from your Dreame smart ring or watch. It automatically adjusts the caffeine or nutrient output based on how you slept. As you head for the door, one of their AI-powered smart robots identifies a basket of clothes you left out, uses its bionic robotic arms to sort them by fabric, and starts a cycle optimized for those specific materials.
As you walk toward your Nebula NEXT 01, Metis has already communicated with your home’s climate system. The car’s cabin is set to your preferred temperature, and your navigation is pre-loaded with your first meeting location synced from your Dreame smartphone. During the drive, Metis doesn’t just wait for commands. If it detects you are stressed (via biometrics from your wearables), it might proactively suggest a more relaxing route or adjust the “dynamic sound engine” in the car to play calming music that follows your head position. On your way home, the NEXT 01’s navigational system would tell your smart home to “wake up,” and your house would welcome you home. It’s not taking anyone’s jobs—just making life a bit easier.
Okay, Now for the Jet-Powered Version: the NEXT 01 JET Edition
We’ve all said we’d never see flying cars or self-driving cars. But here we are, in 2026, looking at companies that are developing both. In China, Dreame has been working hard on developing something we’ve only seen in movies like Batman: a car with rockets on the back of it. I never thought I’d see a functioning example until the NEXT 01 Jet Edition was revealed.
The Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition represents the extreme ceiling of Dreame’s engineering, serving as a high-performance statement piece for the brand’s automotive debut. The vehicle is equipped with a custom-built dual solid-fuel rocket booster system integrated directly into the electric powertrain. This system is designed for near-instantaneous activation, responding in just 150 milliseconds to generate a peak thrust of 100 kN (or 22,481 pounds of force).
To put that into perspective, that’s about 75% of the thrust generated by an F-16 Fighting Falcon’s engine at full non-afterburning power. That much force could lift six Ford F-150 trucks straight up off the ground at once. It’s like having two mini aerospace-grade rockets strapped onto the back of your car. And it can achieve a 0-60 mph time of 0.9 seconds. To put simply, it’s the fastest accelerating car ever.
But it’s got more than rockets on its resume. The NEXT 01 JET Edition features the company’s built and engineered-in-house DHX1 LiDAR unit, which utilizes 2,160 lines to provide “image-level” sensing capable of resolving fine details like small stones and pedestrian movements at significant distances, which companies like Rivian could only dream of making work. The NEXT 01 JET also incorporates new solid-state battery technology, which optimizes space and weight, ensuring that the massive power of the rocket system is supported by a highly efficient and rigid body. It’s built for speed. Serious speed.
A Familiar Face Helped Design and Engineer This
The NEXT JET Edition’s combination of aerospace-inspired propulsion and high-definition AI perception was described by industry veteran Sebastian Thrun. If you’re unfamiliar with that name, Thrun was the co-founder of Google X, which eventually became Waymo. With the same brain that helped develop the robotaxis we’ve tested and loved, Thrun served as a critical validator for Dreame’s entry into the automotive market.
His involvement went beyond a typical guest appearance; he engaged in a high-level technical dialogue with Dreame executive Jake Ma to discuss the transition from academic AI research to the “industrial application” of embodied intelligence. Thrun specifically praised Dreame’s approach to building a “new brain for the physical world,” noting that the project represents the kind of “transformation” required to move beyond simple transportation. With a smile on his face, he told the crowd that he’d never seen a product reveal “as exciting” as the JET Edition, saying it was a “driving machine the world has never, ever seen before.”
We Probably Won’t See Them in the States, But I Loved Seeing a Company Reach for the Stars
While the mass-production window for the NEXT 01 and the NEXT 01X (the SUV I mentioned earlier) is currently set for 2027, with a confirmed manufacturing plant slated for Berlin rather than the U.S., the San Francisco debut was less about immediate sales and more about the audacity of engineering. It’s easy to dismiss a robot vacuum company entering the automotive space as a reach too far, but history suggests otherwise. Much like Lamborghini transitioning from tractors to supercars or Samsung evolving from a dried-fish exporter to a global electronics giant, Dreame is betting that its core expertise in high-speed digital motors and bionic robotics can redefine what a vehicle actually is.
At its heart, the NEXT program represents the triumph of human innovation over skepticism. By leveraging a decade of research that began in a university lab and scaling it into a rocket-powered reality, the company is proving that “embodied intelligence” can be applied to anything from a living room floor to a 0-60 mph sprint in 0.9 seconds. Whether or not the JET Edition eventually parks in an American driveway, seeing a brand reach for such a literal and metaphorical height reminds us that the most disruptive leaps in history often come from the most unexpected origins.
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