The past year has not been the most profitable time for investing in robotics startups. But it was one of the flashiest.
A startup developing some of the technology’s most sci-fi applications, from humanoid peer bots to AI robot brains, has secured the biggest round of the year. Large trades are also skewed toward the early stages, indicating that the cycle is likely just beginning.
An example of this trend is Figure, a two-year-old startup focused on “enabling general purpose humanoids.” The Silicon Valley startup, founded in 2022, raised $675 million in Series B funding in February to further its vision of building robots to perform unsafe and undesirable tasks.
Another example is the second-largest round of the year, awarded to robotic brain developer Physical Intelligence. The San Francisco startup, founded just this year, raised $400 million last month at a $2 billion valuation.
Robotics startups have secured a total of about $7.2 billion in seed-to-growth stage investments in 2024, according to data from Crunchbase. This is slightly above last year’s level, but still well below the 2021 market peak, as seen in the chart below.
multipurpose robot
One trend we’re seeing in the funding tally is that investors are interested in startups that develop versatile robots that can perform more than just one or two simple tasks.
Besides graphical and physical intelligence, another example of this concept is Pittsburgh-based Skild AI. The company also develops different robots and brain models that can be used for different tasks. The company raised $300 million in Series A funding in July at a valuation of $1.5 billion.
A few months earlier, Silicon Valley-based Collaborative Robotics had launched a series of so-called “practical collaborative robots,” or “cobots,” to work alongside humans in fields such as manufacturing, medicine, and retail. B won $100 million. Also, San Francisco-based Bright Machines, which focuses on flexible factory robots, closed on a $106 million equity raise in June.
Meanwhile, in the home space, Cruise founder Kyle Vogt launched The Bot Company this year, which focuses on home robots. The San Francisco startup closed on $150 million in initial funding to develop robots to help with a variety of household chores.
help wanted
Robotics startups commonly cite current and upcoming labor shortages as a motivating factor. For example, Figure founder Brett Adcock’s company’s master plan is built on the premise that “there are more than 10 million dangerous or undesirable jobs in the United States alone,” which An aging population will only make it more difficult to fill positions, he said.
Using data from Crunchbase, we’ve compiled a list of 14 companies that raised significant funding this year focused on developing robots to do tasks currently performed by humans.
One robotics investor and major employer that appears to share this vision is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fund Bezos Expeditions. Bezos, known for introducing warehouse automation technology, has backed at least four major rounds in robotics companies through his investment vehicles this year. Swissmile is developing figures, physical intelligence, skilled AI, and wheel-legged robots. robot.
Surgical robots, drones, etc.
Beyond workplace bots and AI robot brains, we’ve also seen continued investment in what has long been a major robotics startup sector.
Surgical robotics is one of them. Two of the biggest investments this year are in MMI, which is developing robot-assisted microsurgical technology, and Capstan Medical, which is working on robot-enabled technology to provide a less invasive alternative to traditional open-heart surgery. is. Both raised $110 million in Series C funding.
Drones and robotic delivery vehicles have raised a lot of money over the years and will continue to do so in 2024. Skydio, which sells drones for corporate and military applications, secured a $170 million extension round last month. In the delivery space, another startup whose primary customer is the military, autonomous ground transportation provider Forterra, has secured a $75 million Series B.
We haven’t talked about the exit (yet).
Overall, the pipeline of robotics startups funded this year mostly falls into what I call the “fun to watch” stage. This means that the most heavily funded companies are mostly early-stage, with huge ambitions, attractive business plans, and either currently generating stable revenue or a clear path to profitability. There is a certain amount of pressure to stand up.
Investors also appear to want to wait and see whether the companies they invest in can fulfill their early commitments.
It seems like a very risky proposition, but it also has the potential for huge returns. At least, that’s what Figure’s master plan hopes to do, acknowledging that “we face high risks and very low chances of success.”
“But if we succeed, we have the potential to have a positive impact on humanity and build the biggest companies on the planet,” Figure argues.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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