Although robotics funding remained relatively unchanged last year, some humanoid robot startups have seen massive cash from investors.
Add Apptronik to that list, as the Austin, Texas-based AI-powered humanoid robotics company locked up a $350 million Series A co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with participation from Google. Founded in 2016, Apptronik had previously raised $28 million, per the company.
The startup said it will use the fresh cash to develop Apollo, its humanoid robot designed for industrial work. The company, which competes with Tesla, has partnered with NASA and Nvidia, and has developed 15 robotic systems, including NASA’s humanoid robot Valkyrie.
“We’re creating the world’s most advanced and capable humanoid robots, designed to work alongside humans in meaningful and transformative ways,” said co-founder and CEO Jeff Cardenas in the funding announcement. “By uniting cutting-edge AI with hardware engineered for meaningful interaction, we’re shaping a future where robots become true partners in driving progress. It’s inspiring to have investors who believe in this vision and are committed to helping us bring it to life.”
Big money robots
This is far from the only big-money round to go to a robotics startup recently.
In November, Physical Intelligence, a startup developing brains for a wide array of robots, raised a $400 million round at a $2 billion valuation led by Jeff Bezos, Lux Capital and Thrive Capital, per The New York Times.
In July, Pittsburgh-based Skild AI — also developing brain models that can be used in a variety of robots and for different tasks — raised a $300 million Series A led by Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank Group and Bezos, through his Bezos Expeditions. The funding valued the company at $1.5 billion.
Also it was only about a year ago when Sunnyvale, California-based Figure, which is developing AI-enhanced robots that it hopes will be able to perform dangerous jobs and alleviate labor shortages, raised a huge $675 million round at a pre-money valuation of roughly $2 billion. That round included investments from Nvidia, Bezos’ Explore Investments and others.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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