Maybe robots will take over, but not just any robots.
Robot Brain Developer Physical intelligenceit’s huge $400 million increase A $2 billion valuation last week highlighted several trends in robotics startup investments. On the one hand, investors appear to be backing startups developing multi-purpose robots that can do more than just a task or two. And many startups with significant funding share a common investor: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Overall, the robotics sector has seen a happy new year of venture capital funding. Robotics startups have raised $6.4 billion so far in 2024 – a pace that would bring funding to nearly $7.5 billion for the full year and ahead of $6.9 billion dollars raised in 2023, according to Crunchbase. data.
These numbers pale in comparison to the $14.7 billion raised in 2021, but nonetheless show a fairly robust sector that is still attracting investors and their cash.
Money for more flexible robots
However, one notable difference between this year’s numbers and last year’s numbers is the number of rounds. Only 473 rounds were lifted this year, a sharp drop from 671 last year.
One thing that helped increase the total dollar amount was the size of this year’s two biggest fundraisers: $400 million for Physical Intelligence and $675 million for Physical Intelligence . Figure at the start of the year. Both rounds were larger than last year’s main robotics round, a $330 million Series F for a San Francisco-based drone developer. Zipline.
Physical Intelligence plans to use its latest cash infusion to improve the operation of robots and create core software that could be used on a variety of robot models. Meanwhile, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Figure, which is developing AI-enhanced robots that it hopes will be able to perform dangerous jobs and alleviate labor shortages , raised a $675 million round at a pre-money valuation of around $2 billion in February.
These cycles also seem to highlight a common trend in the robotics startup scene right now: using AI to create robots that can do more than just pack boxes in a warehouse.
It’s a far cry from a robotic arm in a warehouse grabbing things off a shelf, and these two startups aren’t the only ones launching big fundraising rounds to try to expand robots’ job skills.
In July, based in Pittsburgh Competent AI – also developing brain models that can be used in a variety of robots and for different tasks – has raised a $300 million Series A round. The funding valued the company at $1.5 billion.
In April, based in Santa Clara, California Collaborative robotics locked up $100 million, Series B. The startup creates what it calls “practical collaborative robots” — or “cobots,” for short — to work alongside humans in industries like manufacturing, healthcare, retail and more.
A renowned investor
Using AI to create robots and/or software brains that allow our mechanic friends to help with various jobs isn’t the only thing some of these great series have in common.
Some also share a common investor who knows all too well what robots can do in a warehouse.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, either individually or through his Bezos Expeditions investment company – has invested heavily in these trends. Bezos co-led the cycle for Physical Intelligence and Bezos Expeditions co-led the cycle for Skild AI and participated in the Figure cycle.
Additionally, Bezos was an investor in By proxy — an AI startup that uses brain computing principles to develop the general intelligence of robots — before its acquisition by Intrinsic in 2022.
By Crunch base dataBezos Expeditions has also invested in an artificial intelligence-based wheeled and legged robot based in Switzerland. Swiss-Mile and Boston-based industrial robot manufacturer Rethinking robotics.
It seems safe to assume that this list will grow.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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