Articles tagged with "robotics-startup"
ByteDance backs China’s new humanoid robot maker in funding round
Chinese robotics startup X Square Robot has secured $143.3 million (1 billion yuan) in a Series A++ funding round led by major investors including ByteDance, HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China), and government-backed firms such as Beijing Information Industry Development Investment Fund and Shenzhen Capital Group. Founded in 2023, X Square specializes in humanoid robots and embodied AI, aiming for applications in homes, hotels, and logistics. The company is known for its Quanta X1 and X2 wheeled humanoid robots with dexterous hands, powered by its proprietary vision–language–action (VLA) model called WALL-A. This model integrates world models and causal reasoning to enhance robots’ ability to generalize and perform complex tasks in unstructured environments without prior training. X Square’s product lineup includes the Quanta X1, a wheeled bimanual robot with 20 degrees of freedom and a working range of up to 1 meter, and the more advanced Quanta
roboticshumanoid-robotsembodied-AIartificial-intelligencerobotics-startuprobotic-manipulationautonomous-robotsPhotos: New WALL-E inspired robots turn sci-fi into real-life home helpers
At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, robotics startup Zeroth Robotics officially entered the US market by unveiling a lineup of five AI-powered robots designed for homes and small businesses. The company’s flagship product, the W1 robot, draws inspiration from the iconic WALL-E character but features a neutral, unbranded design to avoid copyright issues. Priced at $5,599, the W1 is built for household mobility tasks with a dual-tread system enabling it to traverse various terrains like grass and gravel. Equipped with lidar, RGB cameras, and other sensors, it can carry loads up to 110 pounds, navigate autonomously, and perform limited tasks such as transporting items, following its owner, hosting games, and taking photos. Alongside the W1, Zeroth introduced the smaller M1 humanoid robot, standing 15 inches tall and priced at $2,899. The M1 focuses on companionship and light assistance, leveraging Google’s Gemini AI for conversational abilities. It offers practical features
robotAI-robotshome-robotsZeroth-RoboticsWALL-E-inspiredinteractive-robotsrobotics-startupQ1: Agibot unveils mini humanoid robot that can fit in a backpack
Chinese humanoid robotics startup Agibot has introduced the Q1, a compact AI-powered humanoid robot measuring just 80 cm (31 inches) tall and small enough to fit in a backpack. The Q1 features advanced capabilities such as full-body force control, crash-resistant Quasi-Direct Drive joints, and precise motion enabled by reengineered, egg-sized joints. Designed as an open platform, it offers an accessible SDK and HDK, a 3D-printable exterior shell, and zero-code programming, allowing users to customize its appearance and program movements without advanced robotics expertise. Out-of-the-box functionalities include voice interaction, English tutoring, dance coaching, and onboard positioning, making the Q1 suitable as both a personal companion and a research tool that bridges the gap between lab prototypes and personal devices. Agibot’s Q1 exemplifies the company’s vision of making humanoid robotics portable, customizable, and interactive, effectively turning humanoid robots into personal labs that can be carried in a
robothumanoid-robotAI-powered-robotpersonal-roboticsrobotics-startupopen-source-roboticsQuasi-Direct-Drive-jointsNoetix unveils humanoid robot receptionist with lifelike face
Chinese robotics startup Noetix has launched Hobbs W1, a humanoid service robot designed for public-facing roles such as reception and guidance in hospitality, retail, education, and corporate environments. Hobbs W1 features a lifelike female-styled bionic head combined with an interactive display, dexterous six-degree-of-freedom hands, and five-degree-of-freedom robotic arms, enabling it to perform natural gestures, hand over items, and carry out light physical tasks. The robot also boasts fully autonomous navigation, emotion recognition, natural conversation abilities, and real-time information synchronization, allowing it to operate independently in complex indoor settings while supporting human workers by handling routine tasks. In addition to Hobbs W1, Noetix recently introduced Bumi, a child-sized humanoid robot priced under US$1,400, following a US$41 million pre-Series B funding round. This pricing significantly disrupts the typical high cost of humanoid robots, which often reach six figures. No
robothumanoid-robotservice-robotautonomous-navigationrobotics-startupbionic-headdexterous-robotic-armsRivian creates another spinoff company called Mind Robotics
Rivian has launched its second spinoff company in 2025, named Mind Robotics, which focuses on industrial AI and robotics. According to Rivian’s third-quarter shareholder letter, Mind Robotics aims to use industrial AI to transform how physical-world businesses operate, leveraging Rivian’s operational data to create a robotics data flywheel. The company has raised approximately $110 million in external seed funding, though specific details about its operations or projects remain undisclosed. This follows an earlier spinoff in March, Also Inc., a micromobility startup partially funded by Eclipse and Greenoaks Capital. A trademark application for Mind Robotics was recently filed, listing Eclipse partner Jiten Behl and Eclipse’s Palo Alto address, suggesting a close relationship with the venture capital firm. It is unclear whether Rivian employees will transition to Mind Robotics, but Rivian hinted at leveraging its existing technology talent and innovation culture to expand its mission. While industrial AI and robotics are hot investment areas with competitors like Tesla and
roboticsindustrial-AIRivianMind-RoboticsAI-enabled-roboticsrobotics-startupindustrial-automationAlloy is bringing data management to the robotics industry
Alloy, a Sydney-based startup founded by Joe Harris in 2025, is addressing a critical challenge in the robotics industry: managing the massive amounts of data robots generate daily from sensors and cameras, which can reach up to a terabyte per robot per day. Alloy provides specialized data infrastructure that encodes, labels, and organizes this multimodal data, enabling users to search through it using natural language to identify bugs and errors efficiently. The platform also allows users to set automated rules to flag future issues, akin to observability tools in software development, helping robotics companies reduce the time spent manually diagnosing problems. Since its launch, Alloy has partnered with four Australian robotics firms and aims to expand into the U.S. market. The company has raised over AUD 4.5 million (approximately USD 3 million) in pre-seed funding led by Blackbird Ventures. Alloy’s solution stands out because many robotics companies currently rely on retrofitted data tools not designed for robotics or build their own internal systems
roboticsdata-managementrobotics-industrysensor-datarobotics-startupdata-infrastructurerobot-data-analysisFieldAI raises funds to advance universal brains for humanoid robots
FieldAI, a robotics startup backed by Bill Gates, has raised $405 million in funding from investors including Nvidia’s venture capital arm, Jeff Bezos’ family office, Khosla Ventures, Temasek, Intel Capital, and others. Valued at $2 billion, the two-year-old company is experiencing rapid growth driven by strong customer demand for its robotics platform. FieldAI’s technology centers on its proprietary Field Foundation Models (FFMs), which are physics-first, risk-aware AI systems designed specifically for robotics. Unlike approaches that adapt language or vision models, FFMs manage uncertainty and physical constraints in dynamic real-world environments without relying on maps, GPS, or predefined routes. These models are hardware-agnostic and can be applied across various robot types, including humanoids, quadrupeds, wheeled robots, and passenger-scale vehicles. FieldAI’s robots are already deployed globally across industries such as construction, energy, logistics, manufacturing, and urban delivery, operating autonomously at the edge and integrating
roboticshumanoid-robotsartificial-intelligencerobotic-autonomyFieldAIrobotics-startuprobot-brain-technologyRobot guard dogs help Asylon raise a $26M Series B
Philadelphia-based robotics company Asylon, founded in 2015 by three MIT graduates, specializes in robotic security-as-a-service (RaaS) that integrates modified Boston Dynamics robot dogs, called DroneDogs, with flying drones and proprietary Guardian command-and-control software. These robotic systems provide ground patrols and aerial surveillance, offering enhanced security coverage beyond stationary cameras. DroneDogs can perform tasks similar to real dogs, such as detecting gas leaks or hazardous chemicals. Asylon’s RaaS service costs approximately $100,000 to $150,000 annually, comparable to hiring human bodyguards. The company has raised about $45 million in total funding, including a recent $26 million Series B round, reflecting increased investor interest amid rising security concerns following high-profile incidents. Asylon’s founders—CEO Damon Henry, CTO Adam Mohamed, and COO Brent McLaughlin—initially worked as aerospace engineers before launching the startup inspired by Amazon’s drone delivery announcement. The company’s early breakthrough came in 2019
roboticsrobot-dogsdrone-technologysecurity-robotsrobotic-automationrobotics-startuprobotic-security-servicesWorld’s first garage-built humanoid robot open to creators worldwide
K-Scale Labs, led by CEO Benjamin Bolte, is developing the world’s first garage-built, open-source humanoid robot called the K-Bot, aimed at making advanced robotics accessible to everyday consumers rather than just large corporations. Operating from Bolte’s home with a small dedicated team, the startup envisions the K-Bot performing common household tasks such as toasting bread and mopping floors, thereby reducing manual labor. The initial version, launching in November 2025, will feature basic locomotion, balance control, voice commands, and app-based operation, with a goal of achieving near full autonomy by June 2028. The K-Bot stands 1.4 meters tall, weighs 34 kg, and can carry payloads up to 10 kg. It includes modular, upgradeable sensors and computing systems, RGB and stereo vision cameras, farfield microphones, stereo speakers, and a four-hour battery life. Priced starting at $10,999, it aims to disrupt
robothumanoid-robotopen-source-roboticsautomationpersonal-robotK-Botrobotics-startupTacta Systems raises $75M to give robots a 'smart nervous system' - The Robot Report
Tacta Systems, a Palo Alto-based startup, has raised $75 million to advance its development of dexterous intelligence technology that equips robots with tactile skills and spatial awareness. The company’s proprietary platform, described as a "smart nervous system," integrates software, hardware, and AI to enable robots to perform complex, delicate, and variable tasks with human-like precision, flexibility, and autonomy. CEO Andreas Bibl emphasized that while AI has made strides in processing text and video, much of the physical world remains challenging for machines, and Tacta aims to automate labor-intensive factory work and physical tasks. The funding round includes an $11 million seed round led by Matter Venture Partners and a $64 million Series A led by America’s Frontier Fund and SBVA, with participation from several other investors. Tacta is led by Andreas Bibl, an experienced entrepreneur who previously founded LuxVue Technology, acquired by Apple in 2014. Investors, including Matter Venture Partners’ Wen Hsieh,
roboticsartificial-intelligencetactile-technologyautomationrobotics-startupdexterous-intelligencesmart-nervous-systemTesla sues former Optimus engineer over alleged trade secret theft
Tesla has filed a lawsuit against Zhongjie “Jay” Li, a former engineer in its Optimus humanoid robotics program, accusing him of stealing trade secrets related to advanced robotic hand sensors. Li, who worked at Tesla from August 2022 to September 2024, allegedly downloaded confidential information onto personal devices and conducted research on humanoid robotic hands and startup funding sources during his final months at the company. Shortly after his departure, Li founded a startup called Proception, which claims to have developed advanced humanoid robotic hands resembling Tesla’s designs. The complaint highlights that Proception was incorporated less than a week after Li left Tesla and publicly announced its achievements within five months, raising concerns about the misuse of Tesla’s proprietary technology. Tesla’s Optimus program, launched in 2021, has faced development challenges and delays, with Elon Musk indicating in mid-2024 that the company would continue work on the project despite earlier setbacks. The lawsuit underscores ongoing tensions in the competitive field of humanoid robotics
robothumanoid-roboticsTesla-Optimusrobotic-hand-sensorstrade-secret-theftrobotics-startuphuman-robot-interactionFigure AI sent cease-and-desist letters to secondary markets brokers
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