Funding news
Short summaries of what matters in robotics, each linking to its original source, plus our own interviews and features. Have a story?
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Edinburgh startup Danu Robotics, founded by Amy Ma, has raised $5 million in late-seed funding and is now commercialising H.E.R.O., an AI-driven robot that sorts recyclables with a pincer claw rather than suction. The company reports $500,000 in signed contracts and more than 200 prospects in its sales pipeline.
· TechCrunch
Mecka AI, founded in 2024, has raised a $60 million Series B led by Sequoia Capital, with Nvidia and Microsoft's M12 also investing, at a $500 million valuation. The company hires people to film themselves doing daily chores while wearing body sensors and using phones, turning that human motion into data for training humanoids and other robots.
· TechCrunch
Teradyne has made an undisclosed investment in Bright Machines, whose software-defined Bright Factory platform runs more than 130 microfactories in over ten countries. The deal brings Teradyne robotic assembly, test-equipment loading and autonomous material movement into those lines, with Universal Robots cobots working next to Teradyne board testers.
· The Robot Report
Munich-founded RobCo says it is now valued at $1 billion, twice its level nine months ago, with Cherry Ventures and European Tech Collective joining backers such as Sequoia and Lightspeed. The company rents its Alfie robots for factory work as a service without upfront cost and paired the milestone with a share sale for long-serving staff.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Safeworld, co-founded by Carnegie Mellon safety researcher Ding Zhao, has emerged from stealth with a seed round of more than $12 million led by Shine Capital and a16z Speedrun. It runs robots' real control software in simulated workplaces full of digital humans to probe thousands of risky situations; Gritt Robotics is an early customer.
· TechCrunch
New York startup Tangent Robotics has raised $4.5 million led by Fly Ventures and Toyota Ventures. It is combining robot hands, light-based tactile sensors in the fingers and machine learning so robots can handle fine assembly work such as mating connectors, and plans to deploy in manufacturing.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Destro AI has emerged from stealth with an $8 million seed round led by Base10 Partners and Bonfire Ventures. Its software uses vision-language-action models to control robots and plan work alongside people in cross-dock logistics; a pilot with Yusen Logistics is growing to 26 robots, with a 17-robot pilot starting at another US site.
· TechCrunch
Inbolt has raised $12.5 million led by Shift4Good, taking its total funding to $34 million. Its 3D camera and AI software let arms from makers such as FANUC, ABB, KUKA and Universal Robots adapt to parts in real time; it counts over 200 robots in more than 100 factories and plans to expand in the US, Asia and data centers.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Edge AI chipmaker SiMa.ai closed a $150 million Series C co-led by Fidelity and Amplify, bringing total funding to $500 million. The company plans to use the money for its Palette Neat software and next-generation chips aimed at humanoid robots, drones and driver assistance, with new hardware rated at 1,000 dense TOPS due in the first half of 2028.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Utah-based Autonomous Solutions Inc. and SoftBank Group are creating a joint venture to develop and sell autonomous systems for large infrastructure construction, with mixed fleets of haul trucks, dozers, loaders and compactors working together. SoftBank is funding the venture and has also invested $225 million in ASI, whose Mobius platform coordinates vehicles from different manufacturers.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Feather, founded by former 1X engineer Hoa Mai and former Tesla engineer Parsa Bakhtiari, is building a customizable humanoid that software developers can adapt to jobs such as kitchen work or lab cleaning. The startup raised a $7.6 million pre-seed led by Gradient Ventures, says it has already passed $1 million in revenue, and is field testing ahead of a wider launch.
· TechCrunch
Tokyo startup O-ID, founded in 2025, raised $1.2 million led by TAWANI Ventures with Hustle Fund and Techstars to build humanoids whose joints, limbs and compute units can be exchanged on site. It aims to bring its first robot from prototype into production for Japanese factories, and has filed a provisional US patent for its modular connector.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Los Angeles startup Helicon Industries raised a $16 million seed round led by AlleyCorp to use robotics to handle flexible carbon fiber textiles, a step that remains largely manual. It aims to cut composite lead times from over six months to about two weeks from a 36,000 sq ft plant in Torrance, serving aerospace, defense and robotics customers.
· The Robot Report
Machine vision company Cognex will buy RealSense, the depth camera business spun out of Intel in 2025, for $500 million in cash, with closing expected in Q4 2026. RealSense sensors are used on robot arms, mobile robots, quadrupeds and humanoids, and the company expects $80 to 90 million in 2026 revenue. Its facial authentication unit will be split off.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Industrial parts supplier MISUMI has set up MISUMI Ventures in the San Francisco Bay Area, a $50 million fund that will write initial checks of $500,000 to $1.5 million in seed and Series A companies working on robotics, factory automation and industrial AI. Portfolio firms will get access to MISUMI's parts catalog and factory network.
· Robotics Tomorrow
Maven Robotics came out of stealth with a $100 million Series A backed by RoboStrategy, LocalGlobe, Vine Ventures and XTX Ventures. Its wheeled two-armed robots build mixed pallets in warehouses, lifting 30 kg each, and about eight units already run 16-hour days at customers. The company plans to build 250 third-generation robots.
· TechCrunch