Robotics startup backed by Nvidia, Amazon and others raises $1.4B
Dive Brief:
- Germany-based startup Neura Robotics has raised $1.4 billion in series C funding backed by Nvidia, Amazon, Bosch, Qualcomm and other investors, to support the development, manufacturing and deployment of humanoid and industrial robots.
- Neura said the capital will increase serial production to “multi-million” robots by 2030 and assist with the global rollout of its training environments, called Neura Gyms, for cognitive robots and physical artificial intelligence.
- The funding will also drive the expansion of the Neuraverse, an open, shared intelligence database where robots continuously exchange skills, capabilities and learnings across deployments, according to a news release. Neura said its orderbook and deployment pipeline exceed $1 billion in value.
Dive Insight:
Venture capital has been pouring into robotics and physical AI, driven by defense and industrial interests. Last year, the segment comprised $27.6 billion across 1,009 deals, according to Pitchbook.
Pittsburgh-based Skild AI, a general-purpose robot brain developer, raised $1.4 billion through a series C round earlier this year. Neura said its latest capital raise was the largest by a “full-stack robotics company ever.”
“We believe physical AI and cognitive robotics will become one of the largest technology shifts of the coming decades, transforming industries ranging from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare, services and household robotics,” Neura’s founder and CEO David Reger said in a statement.
Founded in 2019, Neura has developed robots that work alongside humans for quality inspection, palletizing, welding and other industrial applications, according to its website. In recent months, it has partnered with Dassault Systèmes, Amazon Web Services, Bosch and others to deploy and integrate its robotics and technologies on factory and warehouse floors. Neura’s robots include industrial arms, quadrupeds, mobile bases and humanoids.
Nafea Bshara, vice president and distinguished engineer at Amazon, said in a statement that the company’s investment was a natural extension of its Neura partnership. Tether, Imec.xpand, Schaeffler, European Investment Bank, Lingotto Horizon and InterAlpen Partners also participated in Neura’s series C. No break-out investment details were disclosed.
