Scratch a roboticist and you’ll find a science fiction fan. This weekend I’m finally attending the home of the Hugo Awards, the World Science Fiction Convention. It’s in LA this year (for the fifth time hence LAcon V) and there are a LOT of panels and talks about robots and AI. Some of them I’m speaking on, alongside NASA roboticists and award winning authors. Some I’m just geeking out at.

Let’s start with the definitional, what counts as a robot? In popular perception, a robot is a made thing, not always mechanical, that comes close to human, or companion animals. It is singular. Robots are used as a mirror of human, while they also serve as avatars of otherness, the alien. I always wanted to be an astronaut to meet with alien intelligences and eventually realized that robotics was where it was really happening! (Also in animal consciousness and linguistics studies… and extreme biology.)

Modern robots were born in Karel Capek’s R.U.R from the 1920s. But in R.U.R. the robots are biological entities, made in a factory. It isn’t the materials that make them robots. It’s the means of production. Somehow in being factory produced, these entities miss out on having souls, and it’s when the well meaning maker adds a soul to one of the robots that the trouble begins. Without souls, the robots are satisfied with being a class of slave labor. With a soul, one robot is politicized and starts a revolution. In the end, humanity is wiped out and a new race of robots is birthed.

Current medical state of the art, with gene splicing, artificial fertilization and early natal incubation, have us much closer to Capek’s robots than silicon-mechanical robots are to humans. Do androids dream of electric sheep?

I’m now in the middle of a much larger thought piece about all the ways in which we define the boundary between us and robot/alien, but that’s just my jam. In the real world, getting a grip on these slippery fault lines is important. Otherwise we get blindsided by FCC regulations or risk robots becoming the next iteration of data centers. Currently 50% of US states are restricting data centers due to sudden public backlash against them.

Jill Lepore says that data centers are the bucket into which ‘we, the people’ can put all our worries about AI, tech billionaires, the environment, jobs and inequality. They also allow for local protest, being physical and subject to local government planning and building regulations. People can feel that their voices have power.

Can we learn from this for the expanding roll out of robots? Exploring these boundary areas helps us better understand how to commercialize robots, also provides insights on better ways of designing interactions between humans and robots (robots/robots, robots/animals, all of the above.)

LAcon V turns out to be one of those very multitrack events where you are always missing out on many interesting things, but I can safely say that the discussions are great. This is a very speculative mix of science, imagination and philosophy. And in the middle of discussions about doom and gloom, it can also be very hopeful and action oriented. Writers. Who knew!

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Now that robots are so popular we’re seeing a huge increase in ‘robot or physical ai’ events and activity and a lot of it is just noise. But there is also space for multiple events that differentiate in attendee or topic focus. Stay in touch with the real signal here in Robots & Startups or the Silicon Valley Robotics calendar.

Key insights from Lexis Nexis patent analysis

The humanoid patent rush started around 2015 and has only steepened since then.

Most of today’s strongest patent positions come from adjacent industries, not dedicated humanoid robotics companies. Nine of the ten strongest organizational portfolios devote less than 10% of their total patent holdings to the three core humanoid robotics technology areas. Leading portfolios include automation and robotics players such as Fanuc and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, AI and computing companies such as Alphabet and Nvidia, and surgical-robotics specialist Intuitive Surgical.

Humanoid robotics cannot be captured by one patent class or keyword set alone. The field spans multiple technical domains, so we focused on three core technology areas that make humanoid robots functional, adaptive, and autonomous:

• Interaction Systems

• Morphology

• Control & Planning Architectures

This approach helps surface the companies with relevant patent holdings across the technologies that make humanoid robots functional, adaptive, and autonomous.

Rahul Meka, Principal at Playground Global and Ilia Barakov, CTO of Polymath Robotics are two of our guest speakers at the next “Bots, Bevs and Invests” in San Francisco with Ultimate Bots on Wednesday Sep 2. More speakers to be announced shortly. The focus this month is on bringing investors writing checks together with startups who are fundraising.

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics News

Inside Meta’s push to put robots to work inside data centers - Wired

Faster, higher, funnier. What we learned from China’s robot games - The Guardian

Nvidia Wants to Run the World’s Robots. China Is an Eager Customer. - WSJ

Nvidia agrees to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion - The Information

Softbank in talks to buy 1X at $6 Billion valuation according to reports - Reuters

Meet the humanoid robots cleaning homes for $30 an hour - NBC News

China’s humanoid robots aren’t smart enough to work in a factory - Reuters

DeepSeek’s founder’s hedge fund is snapping up pre-IPO stakes in China’s chip and robotics boom - Quartz

Anthropic tests new way for Claude to work with robots and scientific lab tools - Bloomberg

ICE plans to spend $2 million on dog-like robots for immigration enforcement - The Hill

Hyundai seeks to diversify revenue with its latest robotics acquisition - Manufacturing Dive

Robotics startup Generalist reaches $3B valuation - TechCrunch

A startup founded by ex-DeepMind engineers wants to turn its customers into robot teachers - Business Insider

Video Friday: Meet Microduck - IEEE Spectrum

Robotics Events

Send us your photos! Here’s some great pics from Wednesday’s Silicon Valley Robotics Bots, Bevs and Devs at Nomadic AI in San Francisco. Apologies to everyone stuck on the wait list - we were at full capacity. You’ll get first invites to the next event! Subscribe to the Silicon Valley Robotics event calendar for updates.

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Bots, Bevs & Invests - San Francisco - Sep 2 - FOCUS ON STARTUPS FUNDRAISING AND INVESTORS FUNDING

ROS By-The-Bay - Sunnyvale - Sep 3 - Bosch with 6thSense and Bob Nugman

Automated Happy Hour with SVR and A3 - Mountain View - Sep 22 - Special Guest announcement very soon

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24 - TICKET SALES END SOON

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

RobOps Summit - Oct 22

Long Horizon Physical AI - San Francisco - Oct 2 -21 (use SVR35 discount code)

SVR and Intel Robot Developer Workshop - Oct 22

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9
incl SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - Dec 7

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

Actuate was pretty amazing with a very high quality of attendees. While Rya Jetha at Business Insider bemoaned the lack of ‘clankers’ or physical robots at the event, that really misses the point. Actuate was intentionally a developer conference, not a hardware conference. Mission accomplished, Foxglove.

The talks were all top of the line technical talks and I particularly enjoyed the panel discussion on World Action Models vs VLAs (Force/Torque etc.). The breakout stage talks were just as interesting as the main stage, although I think that, like many other attendees, I was so busy talking to people that I missed quite a few great talks.

Now that robots are so popular we’re seeing a huge increase in ‘robot or physical ai’ events and activity and a lot of it is just noise. But there is also space for multiple events that differentiate in attendee or topic focus. Stay in touch with the real signal here in Robots & Startups or the Silicon Valley Robotics calendar.

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FCC unpacked via DLA Piper and A3

The FCC has shifted from focusing on individual companies toward entire product categories of foreign-made devices (foreign not Chinese).

Conditional approval is a 4-8 week process at the moment. Only the DOW can evaluate applications for advanced robotic devices, although DHS can evaluate power inverters and FCC provides equipment authorization covering RF frequency emission.

Existing robots with FCC certifications are exempt from this ban. Updates are permitted. New models are not. The definition of an Advanced Robotic Device excludes connected vehicles, rail-only, uncrewed air or underwater systems, medical devices and assistive mobility devices and fixed stationary industrial or medical robots.

Research institutions in China and South Korea hold a much greater share of the humanoid patent economy than Japan, the United States or Germany.

Technology Analyst Wanted

The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) Science and Technology Watch Board is seeking a Technology Analyst to research, analyze, and communicate how cutting-edge robotics evolves from basic research into real-world impact.

In this role, you’ll work closely with IEEE RAS leadership to map out historical development, patents, funding pathways, and technical milestones for innovations in surgical robotics, legged locomotion, autonomous navigation, and more. Inspired by the National Academies’ “tire tracks” model, your research will produce visual timelines and strategic maps used by policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and educators worldwide.

Role Details:
Position: Technology Analyst (Part-Time Hourly Contractor)
Commitment: ~20 hours/week
Location: Remote
Key Tasks: Deep-dive technical literature analysis, patent/report evaluation, and tech evolution mapping.
Download the Full Job Description https://lnkd.in/gfTTY_jM

If you have a passion for robotics history, emerging technology, and high-impact technical writing, apply today to help shape the global story of robotics innovation!

To Apply

If interested, please contact IEEE RAS at ras-connect@ieee.org.

Please submit: Resume or CV
One writing sample demonstrating analytical or technical communication skills, preferably tracing the evolution of technology or explaining a technical topic for a general audience
Brief cover letter describing your interest in robotics and technology analysis

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics News

The 25 most promising robotics startups in 2026, according to investors - Business Insider

Six in 10 Leaders Bet Big on Robots. Only Four in 10 Are Ready. - Intel Newsroom

US distributor of China’s most popular humanoid robots pivots after US ban - Ars Technica

From robot dogs to helpers, China puts robotics ambitions on display at conference - ABC News

Humanoid robots don’t deserve their superhuman valuations - Financial Times

American Humanoid Robot Launches For Just $1,688, Delivery This Fall, Made In San Francisco - Forbes

CEO of viral backflipping robot company says robots are still years from ‘ChatGPT moment,’ even after investors sent his stock soaring 460% - Fortune

Warehouse Operators Accelerate Automation - WSJ

Rivian spinout Also raises another $150M - TechCrunch

New construction robots gain traction on jobsites - Construction Dive

Fun to watch but how does a high jumping humanoid help humanity - Evan Ackerman in IEEE Spectrum

Robotics Events

Send us your photos! Here’s some great pics from Wednesday’s Silicon Valley Robotics Bots, Bevs and Devs at Nomadic AI in San Francisco. Apologies to everyone stuck on the wait list - we were at full capacity. You’ll get first invites to the next event! Subscribe to the Silicon Valley Robotics event calendar for updates.

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27

Bots, Bevs & Invests - San Francisco - Sep 2 - FOCUS ON STARTUPS FUNDRAISING AND INVESTORS FUNDING

Automated Happy Hour with SVR and A3 - Mountain View - Sep 22 (invites coming very soon)

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24 - TICKET SALES END SOON

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

RobOps Summit - Oct 19

SVR Robot Developer Workshop - Oct 22

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9
incl SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - Dec 7

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

More than 30 new robotics and physical AI companies have been founded in the SF Bay Area since the start of 2026. They range from tactile AI (6thSense) to household robots (Gatsby) to a non-profit creating ‘Physical AI for Social Good’ (Senses Link).

If you belong to one of these companies, please reach out and let me know what you’re up to! The full list so far for 2026 is below.

Read more

Who’s building robots in the East Bay?

• Project Prometheus (West Oakland): Co-founded by Jeff Bezos, this physical AI and “artificial general engineer” startup just leased 100,000 square feet at the American Steel Blocks site to build AI that interacts with and manufactures physical products.

• 1X Technologies (Hayward): Operates the 58,000-square-foot “Neoactory,” a high-volume manufacturing facility dedicated to building humanoid robots like the NEO, complete with in-house component production and assembly.

• OpenAI (Richmond): Secured a massive 202,400-square-foot industrial footprint at the Portside Commerce Center (originally prepped for Moxion Power) tailored with heavy electrical power to support robotics development and manufacturing.

• Tesla (Fremont & Oakland): Maintains its massive vehicle and automated manufacturing footprint at the Fremont factory—geared up for large-scale Optimus humanoid robot production lines—along with autonomous fleet staging operations in Oakland.

• Agility Robotics (Fremont): Operates a 60,000 sq ft advanced hardware R&D and engineering campus focused on humanoid robotics development right across from Meta’s hardware facilities.

• Behring Companies (Downtown Oakland): Developing a 20,000 sq ft AI and memory-rich computing hub / innovation center at 415 20th Street utilizing a former federal supercomputing site to supply localized computing power explicitly targeted at regional robotics and AI workflows.

• Ambi Robotics has 34,000 sq ft in Berkeley and Amazon’s Zoox has expanded their manufacturing operations in Fremont and Hayward.

• If you’re a smaller startup then Circuit Launch provides a 33,000 sq ft cowork, prototyping and production facility in Oakland for robotics and electronics, a second 20,000 sq ft space in Mountain View and an SF space coming online shortly. Silicon Valley Robotics also operates out of Circuit Launch locations.

What the FCC humanoids ban gets wrong

Not only is the ban targeting ALL robotics companies outside of the US but it’s based on a component ban which will also affect all US companies, according to Michelle Sun from Core Matter. The test is in component cost, not labor cost so ‘Assembled in America’ won’t count. Some core components are simply not available in the US.

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Recommendations for shipping humanoids to US needed!

Robotics News

America Wants to Make Its Own Humanoid Robots. That Won’t Be Easy. - NYT

China built robots that can do backflips – but can they make money? - CNBC

Unitree’s Shanghai IPO more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors - Reuters

NVIDIA stock rises as it bets on robots - Barrons

The 4 Words From Jensen Huang That Could Redefine NVIDIA’s Total Addressable Market - WallSt 24/7

LG to unveil Nvidia-powered humanoid robot in Q1 next year - The Korea Times

Unitree’s IPO may be just the beginning of an investor frenzy over humanoid-robot stocks - MarketWatch

Robots on Wall Street: Non-traditional paths to public markets for robotics companies - The Robot Report

Uber surprised robotics company Serve by selling its entire stake - TechCrunch

Making ‘Significant’ Progress on Robotics: Deepmind’s Parada - Bloomberg

Robots construct 65 distinctive homes in planned US 3D-printed metro district - Interesting Engineering

Walmart and Target are buying a lot of robots - ValleyPress

Amazon plans to deploy AutoStore robotics solutions for fulfillment - Modern Materials Handling

Inside the Rise of Robotic Systems in Modern Hospitals - Medscape

Robots That Walk and Talk Are Coming to Car Factories - NYT

Self-driving trucks are officially testing on California highways - TechCrunch

Alloy Robotics Raises $8M to Help Debug Robots - CityBiz

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Events

Send us your photos! Here’s some great pics from Wednesday’s Silicon Valley Robotics Bots, Bevs and Devs at Nomadic AI in San Francisco. Apologies to everyone stuck on the wait list - we were at full capacity. You’ll get first invites to the next event! Subscribe to the Silicon Valley Robotics event calendar for updates.

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24 - TICKET SALES END SOON

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

What do we need to support US robot manufacturing?

In Silicon Valley robotics startups are focused on building right now. Across the United States the broader issues remain. Can we create a local robotics manufacturing ecosystem? If so, where and what resources do we need? What are some strategies to support innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies?

Is it always true that where the US innovates, China scales? What do you think?

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Experts call FCC’s block on foreign robotics a nearshoring tactic

Via Manufacturing Dive article by Nathan Owens - Aug 7 2026

Following the Trump administration’s move last week to block the sale of advanced industrial robots from all countries outside of the United States, experts are mixed on the outcome, but ultimately supportive of what this could mean from a supply standpoint.

The Federal Communications Commission on July 28 updated its covered list to include imports of mobile robots, such as humanoids and quadrupeds, as well as connected power inverters, citing national security risks.

Products meeting those definitions can no longer receive FCC equipment authorization and cannot be imported, marketed or sold in the U.S., making them essentially banned. Affected companies can apply for a conditional approval.

The sweeping action, which immediately took effect, came amid growing concern over China’s ability to surveil customers and obtain sensitive data around the world from devices assembled in the country. However, it also looks to address another issue entirely — the U.S. falling behind globally in terms of robot production and deployment.

“Domestically, we need help,” said Robert Little, a business development advisor and former chief of robotics strategy at Novanta.

At first glance, Little said he thought the move was necessary for cybersecurity reasons. But after looking at the FCC’s similar action regarding drones and drone parts, he said the recent ban was also a mechanism to drive domestic production of humanoids and mobile robots, as well as incentive for foreign suppliers to build their supply chains in the U.S.

“That’s its ultimate purpose,” Little said. “And I think it can be effective.”

The U.S. is considered one of the global robotics leaders when it comes to investor capital, fueled by surging interest in AI, foundation model research and robotics systems. However, there is a widening gap between the number of robots manufactured by U.S. companies versus Chinese competitors. China installed 295,000 robots in 2024, representing more than half of the world’s market share, according to the International Federation of Robotics. While preliminary 2025 numbers have not been released yet for China, the group estimated that installations are about ten times higher than the U.S.

To address the issue, the Association for Advancing Automation has urged Congress to consider adopting a national robotics strategy that includes subsidies, tax incentives and other means to drive domestic adoption and production of U.S. robots.

The FCC’s move, which only applies to new products, creates a runway for domestic companies to become more competitive, Little said. Then if the restrictions are lifted in the next few years, “they’ll be in a much better place.”

Erik Nieves, founder and CEO of Plus One Robotics, said he knew the Trump administration would put restrictions on China’s robots, but was surprised by the breadth of the FCC’s ban. Rather than just target China, the move affected robotics from all other countries, including trade partners in Japan, Germany and South Korea.

“We would have preferred to see it be more circumspect, but you don’t control what the government does,” Nieves said. “If it’s true that every action is an overreaction, that’s what this is.”

He also pointed out that the impact of the ban depends on the complexity of the conditional approval from the U.S. Department of Defense. Nieves said the details are unclear about the exemption process, adding that if it’s more than just a simple check, then the U.S. could be “excessively hampering partners that we really would not rather do that to.”

Some say the ban doesn’t go far enough. In a recent LinkedIn post, Standard Bots CEO Evan Beard said that fixed industrial robot arms should be part of the FCC’s covered list because, similar to mobile robots, they have a networked, sensing, actuated system and raise security risks.

“If you can’t trust the components, you can’t trust the robot,” he wrote. Standard Bots, based in Glen Cove, New York, claims to be the largest AI-native industrial robot manufacturer in the U.S., with a focus on robotic arms.

Autonomous mobile robots, known as AMRs, are a different story. These robots are widely used in warehouses to move objects from one place to another. U.S. companies are using AMRs from China and Europe, in part because it’s cheaper to buy them from abroad, Little said.

The AMR market will see some disruption, he said. But the ban only impacts new products from other companies, not mobile robots currently in place with FCC licenses.

“They can continue to sell the old model while they maybe open up a manufacturing center in the U.S.,” Little said. But if they see “it’s not worth it, they’ll just continue to sell the old model and the [U.S.] won’t have access to the new model.”

Whether the current administration expands its restrictions on robotics made in other countries remains to be seen. Earlier this week, China tightened its exports on drones to the U.S. and sanctioned multiple U.S. companies in retaliation to the FCC’s update.

Nieves said he wouldn’t be surprised if the administration directed more appropriations and funding to bolster the domestic robotics supply chain. Meanwhile, legislation targeting a ban on all Chinese robots is gaining traction in the next National Defense Authorization Act.

Read full article here

Why U.S. Robotics Startups Are Stuffing Parts From China in Luggage

Via The Information article by Qianer Liu, Steve LeVine, Juro Osawa and Rocket Drew -Aug 7 2026 (first three readers are free)

On a muggy morning in April, a venture capitalist from San Francisco arrived in China’s southern tech hub of Shenzhen with a long shopping list. His friends at U.S. robotic startups had asked him to bring back humanoids and various robotic components from China.

He headed to Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei district, the world’s biggest electronics bazaar. At one store, he bought humanoids, which he arranged to ship back to the U.S. He then went upstairs to component floors—a labyrinth of countless stalls barely larger than walk-in closets—to pick up robot parts that control motion, manage power and carry signals. Instead of shipping those components as freight, he packed them in a suitcase and took that with him on a flight back to San Francisco.

….

“The big difference between U.S. companies versus Chinese companies is the location of the supply chain. If you look at a Chinese company, everything is in driving distance,” said Jeff Cardenas, CEO of Austin, Texas–based humanoid developer Apptronik. “If we want to compete in the next phases of this race, we need to start to colocate that supply chain and start to build up regional manufacturing zones similar to what we see in Shenzhen.”

Read full article here

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Stay tuned for more Humanoids Speaker and Sponsor announcements in August!

General Chairs IEEE Humanoids 2026 :

Andra Keay : andrakeay@gmail.com

Ross Mead : ross@semio.com

https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org/

Dec 6th - 9th at Santa Clara Convention Center, California

Women in Robotics Founder Andra Keay on Why Our Expectations of Robots Don’t Match Reality

Mar Yvette from Robots, Good or Bad

On why hardware being hard is a feature not a bug for robotics:

“Not only are robots the tangible embodiment of AI, allowing us to better understand issues and advantages of the technology, ” she says, but they’re also “slower to scale and deploy, slower to make inroads on our daily lives and it’s more obvious if there are issues.”

That slower pace gives society more time to understand the technology, identify problems, and adapt as robots become more common.

It’s an observation other roboticists have made, too. When I interviewed Dr. Samuele Vinanzi about artificial trust, he pointed out that while AI seemed to catch most of us off guard, we still have time to think through how we want robots to fit into our lives.

Read the full article here

Robotics News

Unitree IPO Turns 36-Year-Old Founder Into China’s First Humanoid Robot Billionaire - Forbes

Luis Sentis: “In robotics, humans must always be at the center.” - laCaixa

Walden Robotics Partners With Toyota on Practical Humanoids - IEEE Spectrum

Waymo co-CEO explains why physical AI can’t follow Silicon Valley’s ‘move fast and break things’ mantra - Times of India

LG’s Koo Kwang-mo to Head to Silicon Valley Next Week... Meets Jensen Huang to Collaborate on Physical AI - Maeil Business

Wonder Takes a Gamble on Robots, Drones and AI-Generated Menus - WSJ

Video Friday: Drones Go Heavy in DARPA Lift Challenge - IEEE Spectrum

How the East Bay is leading California’s most innovative industries - BizJournals

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Events

Send us your photos! Here’s some great pics from Wednesday’s Silicon Valley Robotics Bots, Bevs and Devs at Nomadic AI in San Francisco. Apologies to everyone stuck on the wait list - we were at full capacity. You’ll get first invites to the next event! Subscribe to the Silicon Valley Robotics event calendar for updates.

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

We’re only (just over) halfway through 2026 and already the robotics funding totals are greater than the whole of 2025. So far the robotics equity funding total for 2026 is approx $40 Billion compared to $36 Billion total for 2025. This is also indicative of larger round sizes as the number of funding events so far in 2026 is 824, compared to the 2025 total of 1150.

Some Bay Area companies that raised seed in July were Queue, Enigma, Foundational Industries, Neuromorphic, Sancho, and Halcyon Robotics; a robotics company that develops advanced robotic hands and humanoid torsos e-commerce and commercial tasks.

Here’s the break down of July robotics funding data - 115 funding rounds for a total of $7,840,679,936 USD which is less than June but greater than May 2026. No funding amount is reported for approx 33% of entries, and large late stage rounds always skew the totals. You can find 2025 in the archives and here are the links to the rest of 2026:

• January

• February

• March

• April

• May

• June

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Read more

Humanoids 2026 Loco-Manipulation Challenge

Inspired by the DARPA Robotics Challenge (2013-2014), the IEEE/RAS LRC (2023-2026), the RoboCup Rescue International competition (2001-2026), and the NIST Humanoid Robot Baseline Benchmark currently under development. This competition will be designed and run by the same team as the above.

Objectives

• Evaluate baseline humanoid robot mobility, manipulation/dexterity, and reasoning capabilities.

• Some of the best humanoid robots will be evaluated on similar tests before and after the competition.

• Competition participants will be able to compare performance with the best humanoid robots in the world.

• Results from the competition will help inform where the research field is relative to the commercial sector.

Rules and Test Procedures

Will be based on variations of the rules and procedures already in place for the IEEE/RAS Legged Robot Challenge (LRC). The tests will consist of several cross-cutting basic tasks arranged in a circuit. Autonomy will be incentivized, but teleoperation or remote operation will still score points. The finalized list of tasks, 3D models, fabrication plans, template for the team proposals, and competition procedure and rules will be made available in summer 2026.

Number of Competition Days and Planned Schedule

Three-day competition (1 practice day and 2 competition days).

Number of Participants

Between 10 and 15 teams.

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Submission Deadline for Competition Proposals for IEEE Humanoids 2026 is August 3rd!

The 25th IEEE‑RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots will take place 6-9 December 2026, in Silicon Valley, California, bringing together the world’s leading researchers, engineers, and industry innovators in humanoid and human-centered robotics.

Call for Competitions: https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org/call-for-competitions/

We encourage competitions that promote accessibility and availability to a wide range of participants, from many different academic spaces. Proposals with a set of competition tasks that are compatible with both large and small research groups, and that do not limit the morphology and technical solution of the competing robot will be preferred.To maximize participation, competitions will run on three days of the conference, December 7th-9th (Monday-Wednesday).

Important Deadlines:

• Competition Proposal Deadline: 3 August 2026

• Notification of Competition Proposal Acceptance/Rejection: 21 September 2026

• Conference Day 2, 3 and 4 (Competitions): 7-9 December 2026

General Chairs IEEE Humanoids 2026 :

Andra Keay : andrakeay@gmail.com

Ross Mead : ross@semio.com

https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org/

Dec 6th - 9th at Santa Clara Convention Center, California

Submission Deadline for Workshop and Tutorial Proposals for IEEE Humanoids 2026 is August 3rd!

The 25th IEEE‑RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots will take place 6-9 December 2026, in Silicon Valley, California, bringing together the world’s leading researchers, engineers, and industry innovators in humanoid and human-centered robotics.

Call for Workshops and Tutorials: https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org/call-for-workshops-and-tutorials/

We invite proposals for half-day or full-day workshops and tutorials to be held during Humanoids 2026. These sessions are aimed at exploring the frontiers of recent or emerging topics related to humanoid robotics, mirroring the cutting-edge scope detailed in the conference’s Call for Papers. All workshops and tutorials will run on the second day of the conference: Monday, 7 December 2026.

Important Deadlines:

• Workshop/Tutorial Proposal Deadline: 3 August 2026

• Notification of Workshop/Tutorial Acceptance/Rejection: 28 September 2026

• Conference Day 2 (Workshops & Tutorials): 7 December 2026

General Chairs IEEE Humanoids 2026 :

Andra Keay : andrakeay@gmail.com

Ross Mead : ross@semio.com

https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org/

Dec 6th - 9th at Santa Clara Convention Center, California

Robotics News

This Silicon Valley city is quietly becoming Robot Row. Here’s who’s clanking around. - Business Insider

Why the future of robots is serving humans, not just imitating them - World Economic Forum

San Francisco company offers cleaning service using humanoid robots - ABC News

DoorDash is paying people to load its delivery robots. It points to a shortcoming of automation - Business Insider

Fedex moves closer to deploying robots that can load trailers - FreightWaves

Hyundai Motor taps former Samsung robotics chief to head Autonomous Driving Development Center - Korea JoongAng Daily

TechCrunch Mobility: Two roads diverged — for robotaxis - TechCrunch

Google’s Gemini Can Now Stomp Around as a Humanoid Robot - Wired

Trump administration bans new Chinese humanoid robots - BBC

Trump administration bans new Chinese humanoid robots, to protect US AI buildout - Reuters

Who wins and who loses after US bans foreign robots - ArsTechnica

Northern California inventor of centaur-style robot ‘Three-Halves’ is surprised by online frenzy - KCRA3

Robotics Research

min{power}

Are Robotics Policies Lookup Tables?

Read more

a month ago · 15 likes · 2 comments · Avik De

What to Tell the Robot

Diffusion Policies are Fancy Lookup Tables

How do you know what data to collect so your robot learns the policy you want? Most answers hide inside talk about what the model "knows" or "understands," language we borrowed from describing people. Ben Burchfield once said a diffusion policy has the memory of a goldfish, since it stays Markov in the state it sees right now. Give up the mentalistic vo…

Read more

a month ago · 9 likes · 1 comment · David Watkins and Stefanie Tellex

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

You are first to be invited to the next Bots, Bevs and Devs on August 5 at Foxglove in San Francisco.

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 5

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

I moved to Silicon Valley back in 2010 because I had zero doubt that this was going to be the epicenter of the global robotics revolution. All the right resources for robotics companies were here, they just weren’t very visible, and Silicon Valley wasn’t quite ready for robots back then, barring a few forward thinking investors and founders.

When Silicon Valley Robotics was founded in 2010 to grow the ecosystem and to support innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies there were about 60 robotics companies in the Bay Area. Today there are 800 to 1000 robotics companies founded and headquartered here, but there are also many more setting up satellite offices or at the very least coming here to fundraise and to do business.

I sympathize with Lukas Ziegler who recently spent some time in the Bay Area and tried to map the ecosystem. I’m sorry mate but you will not fit 1000 logos on to that map.

Agility Robotics opens Fremont location on July 16

Yesterday we [from Agility Robotics] opened our new Fremont, California facility — a 60,000-square-foot hub in the heart of Silicon Valley, where our teams train, test, and advance both the physical AI that teaches Digit new skills and the hardware behind future robots.

Fremont puts us next to the world's deepest AI talent and lets us develop new capabilities faster, then get them working in real customer operations. It complements RoboFab, our manufacturing facility and headquarters in Salem, Oregon. Together, the two sites cover the full range of engineering behind Digit, from AI to hardware.

We're hiring nearly 200 people across AI/ML software, hardware engineering, and field operations to lead it.

The demand is real: active deployments with Schaeffler, GXO, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, and Mercado Libre, plus more than $300 million in orders for Digit V5. Agility is one of the only companies operationally deploying humanoids in real enterprise environments — and Fremont is how we stay there.

Explore open roles → https://lnkd.in/gXb-MRhn

And some nice snippets via TechCrunch

Unlike many of the newer entrants to the humanoid space, Agility isn’t planning to offer in-home humanoid robots anytime soon. It’s a view that jibes with that of most independent robotics experts, who believe today’s most powerful robots aren’t safe enough for consumer use. Digit operates in a human-free space right now, but the version 5, expected to be unveiled this fall, will have the ability to sense humans and won’t need to be kept in a robot-only zone.

Co-founder and chief robot officer Jonathan Hurst said there is plenty of work to keep Agility busy in manufacturing and logistics alone.

“Let’s start with the bins and the totes, and then let’s do the picking and the kitting,” Hurst told TechCrunch. “And then let’s like start working on cardboard, which is really hard, and loading and unloading tractor trailers and things like that. Okay, now we’re at 100 million robots, you know? A trillion-dollar company.”

Leave a comment

• International Women in Robotics Day - October 7 2026 - Save the date!

• Latest Women in Robotics Scholarships

• Welcome Revati Naik to the Women in Robotics Board

• Spotlights - Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility Robotics

• Spotlights - Zinny Weli & Celine Wang, Co-founders of RoboDock

• Spotlights - Alonna Pammer, Co-founder and CTO of Devanthro

• Chapter Highlights - New York and San Francisco Bay Area

• Get involved!

Women in Robotics News

Women in Robotics Newsletter: July 2026

Women in Robotics Updates…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · Allison Thackston

Robotics News

Agility Robotics Plants Its Flag In Tesla’s Backyard - TechCrunch

Samsung revamps robotics operations for humanoid push, floats new ‘HX’ division - Korea Joong Ang Daily

Is Data Collection A Good Business? - 36Kr

With new funding, Monumental plans to bring its construction robots to the U.S. - The Robot Report

He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he’s betting $32 million that robots can fix construction’s labor crisis - Fortune

NVIDIA Just Released a Seriously Impressive AI Model for Robots—This Could Be the Big Catalyst - 247WallSt

Hyundai Now Fully Owns The Robot Maker Its Own Workers Went On Strike To Stop - Carscoops

We Just Had The First Humanoid Strike Ever - Forbes

The Fight Over Humanoid Robots Has Shut Down a Car Factory for the First Time - WSJ

Fear of humanoid robots spurs human workers to strike at Hyundai auto factory - ArsTechnica

A Humanoid Company Backed by Eric Trump Is Preparing Its Robots for War - Wired

Video Friday: Your robot surgeon will see you now - IEEE Spectrum

Roubini Says AI and Robots Are Coming For Your Jobs - Bloomberg

Nouriel Roubini, CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, says even if you raise the retirement age, a large part of the population will be replaced by AI and robots at their jobs in the next 20 or 25 years. He speaks on “Bloomberg Money.”

Bite my shiny metal ass! TV’s all-time top robots - The Guardian

The Scenarionist - Where Deep Tech Meets Capital

Deep Tech for Manufacturing: From Prototype to International Markets

Listen now

a month ago · 6 likes · Nicola Marchese, MD

The Scenarionist has done a great interview with Sabrina Sasaki, Partner at Monozukuri Ventures, exploring how scientific founders can move from laboratory validation to industrial adoption, why milestones must reflect the physical complexity of the product, and how Japan’s manufacturing ecosystem can support international commercialization through pilots, co-development, and strategic partnerships.

Key takeaways from the episode:

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

You are first to be invited to the next Bots, Bevs and Devs on August 5 at Foxglove in San Francisco.

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 5

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

RoboCup 2026 Finals Conclude!

Forget Atlas delivering the match ball at the Fifa Round of 16 Brazil vs Norway game! Robotics has its own world cup. Robocup is an international competition that promotes and advances robotics and AI through the challenges presented by its various leagues.

On July 5, 2026, for the very first time, two 11-humanoid-robot teams faced each other to play soccer. This historic event took place as part of the 2026 RoboCup World Championship of Robotics held in Incheon, South Korea.

The original goal of the annual RoboCup contest was that by 2050 a team of soccer robots should be able to beat the human world champions. Watch the highlights from this milestone-game, albeit an unofficial one, in which B-Human (Bremen, Germany) played HTWK Robots (Leipzig, Germany) with 11 Booster robots on either side.

This weekend also saw the finale of the league competitions at RoboCup 2026. Congratulations to the following top three teams in each size class:

Small division

1. Invic, Wuhan University, China

2. Hamburg Bit-Bots, Universität Hamburg, Germany

3. GeoHBots, School of Artificial Intelligence, China University of Geosciences, China

Middle division

1. B-Human, Universität Bremen and German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Germany

2. HTWK Robots, Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, Germany

3. Rhoban, University of Bordeaux, France

Large division

1. Tsinghua Hephaestus, Tsinghua University, China

2. CAU Mountain&Sea, China Agricultural University, China

3. Water, Beijing Information Science & Technology University, China

In addition to the main competitions, there were five league-wide awards:

• Best Customized Humanoid Award: HERoEHS (ALICE 4th version)

• Best Humanoid Software Award: B-Human (Game Controller)

• Open Research Challenge: Ruhrbot Devils (AI Camera Platform for Embedded 2D/3D Game Analysis in RoboCup HSL)

• Best Innovation Award: Bahia Robotics Team

• Best Referee Award: Anastasia Prisacaru (Berlin United)

China’s Booster Robotics may have won the overall cup with more than 60% of all teams, including the league winners, using one of the Booster humanoid models.

This widespread adoption signals a fundamental shift in what robotics competitions measure, from "who can build the robot" to "who can make the robot smarter." In past years, teams spent much of their R&D resources building the robot itself from scratch, with significant effort going into mechanical design, hardware development, and basic locomotion control. This year marked a clear inflection point: leading teams focused almost entirely on pushing the boundaries of perception, real-time decision-making, and multi-agent coordination, while Booster Robotics served as the underlying platform, continuing to advance the robots' core leg and foot locomotion capabilities, improving reliability in high-speed running, sudden stops and turns, fall recovery, and sustained motion. This separation of hardware and software lets complex code perform reliably in the real world. Read more at Booster Robotics

I have decided to (unofficially) award Booster T1 the Golden Boot of the 2026 Robocup Championships for dominating the winning teams, and also for the viral video of T1 taking penalty shots… and knocking holes in the wall behind the goal. Epic power.

30 years of research driven competition

Initially started in the mid 90s by researchers, Robocup was divided into three football/soccer leagues for small size, middle size and simulation. The competition was colocated with the IJCAI conference in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Lucy Smith of AIhub and Robohub sat down with one of Robocup’s founders, Professor Manuela Veloso to learn more. Full interview here

In Melbourne 2000, RoboCup introduced RoboCup Junior and the RoboCup Rescue League, which was a simulated disaster response task. Later the RoboCup@Home was introduced to cater for the increasing interest in service robotics.

Fun Fact: RoboCup Junior Rescue was my first robotics coaching role and my eight year old son’s team actually made it to the Australian finals. Sadly that is where we learned that some changing lighting conditions could completely derail our robots.

Leave a comment

Great evening at Blue River Technologies on Wednesday - filled to capacity with more than 115 people in attendance. As well as a short introduction to Silicon Valley Robotics from our President Alexander Kernbaum, Board Member Jim Ostrowski and Director Andra Keay (self), we had several very interesting short talks.

​Jim Ostrowski, Chief Technology Officer at Blue River Technologies (a John Deere company) gave an overview of the range of systems that Blue River is developing for agriculture and construction with their expertize in engineering machine learning algorithms and robotics hardware solutions to tackle big problems.

Blue River Technology is hiring!

​Timothy Koide, Head of Partnerships at Reservoir Farms talked about the evolution of Reservoir to include residency programs on a working farm ecosystem with commercial crop production and now also venture funding. Reservoir gives agtech founders an unprecedented opportunity to test, learn and connect with customers.

Attend Reservoir’s Ruggedize Deep Tech conference

​Tessa Lau, Founder/CEO of Dusty Robotics shared how she knew she had product market fit when their first trial site insisted on paying them because they’d just delivered great value. Another of Dusty’s customers, The Weitz Company, created a video about Dusty’s robots for their own marketing purposes.

Dusty Robotics is hiring!

Ping Li introduced ‘Externally Commutated Motor Technology’, a Patented Motor Architecture for the Next Generation of Humanoid Robotics and Intelligent Machines. His patented technology can improve humanoid joint performance particularly in joints that exert large force like knee joints kicking footballs.

The ECDM patent is applicable to any PMAC or BLDC motor, compatible with existing drive hardware, and requires no exotic materials or manufacturing processes. The path from patent to production is a straightforward engineering programme. The heavy industry world validated the underlying physics over a century of large DC operation. The ECDM delivers that physics in a package scaled for humanoid joints.

Ping Li is interested in commercial partners for his patented technology.

pingsj@gmail.com | Cell: (408) 718-3008

Our apologies to those who couldn’t wait for the security sign in process and those who were still on the event wait list. You are first to be invited to the next Bots, Bevs and Devs on August 5 at Foxglove in San Francisco.

Robotics News

This humanoid robotics company is going public, but its CEO isn’t promising a robot in your home anytime soon - TechCrunch

Boston Dynamics CEO: America’s next 250 years will be built by robots. Here’s what’s standing in the way - Fortune

This startup thinks robotics is about to have its ChatGPT moment - TechCrunch

Ex-Tesla Optimus scientist unveils European humanoid robot startup - elektrek

Meet Isaac 1, the $8,000 home robot that wants to take folding laundry off your to-do list - Business Insider

Isaac 1 Skips Legs to Hit $7,999: Weave Home Robot Bets on Upper-Body Engineering - TechTimes

Toilet cleaning robot seeks to meet Japanese high standards - The Asahi Shinbun

Neo’s Hands - An API to the physical world - 1X

Mistral launches first robotics model in physical AI push - Reuters

The first commercial human-like robot is here. Are replicants next? - Fast Company

Japan’s Shimizu bets on humanoid robots to tackle construction labor crunch - Nikkei

The first American autonomous ground vehicles are fighting in Ukraine - TechCrunch

Autonomous ship startup Kraken raises $175M at $1B valuation - silicon Angle

Seoul Physical AI Park Sells Out: Its Unitree Robots Carry an Unfixed Backdoor - Travelers Today

Humanoid robots controlled by surgeons did world-first operation on live pigs - ArsTechnica

Rhoda AI nearly triples footprint with Sunnyvale move - Silicon Valley Business Journal

East Bay Makers Club launches - OpenAI engineer is using his stock awards to launch new community makerspace in this East Bay city - Fox KTVU2

Business Insider’s Rya Jetha is interviewed by Ticker’s Ahron Young about the transformation of Silicon Valley to robots and physical AI. No new information but a good indication of how the reporters are seeing the overall landscape

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

ROS By-The-Bay - July 17 - Mountain View

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 5

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

SVR Robotics Events

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

According to Anduril’s CEO Brian Schimpf via Fortune, defense tech is becoming a bubble with valuations increasingly divorced from reality. Anduril, of course, is now valued at $61 Billion. In the first quarter of 2026, VCs deployed a record $19.8 billion into defense tech across 262 deals, according to PitchBook. (For comparison: That number in Q1 2024 was $5.7 billion, and in Q1 2025 was about $17 billion.) It’s a big shift in investor appetite from just 5 or 6 years ago.

Some Bay Area companies that raised in June were Generalist AI, Rokid, Lightwheel, Tombot, Dexterity, Proception, Nuro, Queue, Uvify, Applied Intuition, InLoop Robotics. Ornadyne, Intelligence Factory, Complete Robot, Andustry, Advanced Metal Research, Arlo Industries and TwoLab.

Here’s the break down of June robotics funding data - 136 funding rounds for a total of $6,570,460,729 USD which is a similar total to May with slightly more rounds. No funding amount is reported for approx 33% of entries, and large late stage rounds always skew the totals. You can find 2025 in the archives and here are the links to the rest of 2026:

• January

• February

• March

• April

• May

Read more

My interest in robots began when I was lucky enough to be taken to New York’s World Fair in 1964. Even though I was only four years old, I can remember the sense of wonder that seeing an animatronic figure gave me. I’m afraid my interest wasn’t really in the content of Abe Lincoln’s address on the preservation of American democracy, liberty, and the rule of law. I was spellbound by seeing that such a lifelike robot had been constructed by humans.

This fascination was only reinforced when I was five or six and toured Disneyland. It’s no surprise that Disney Imagineers are at the forefront of robotics and human-robot interaction because even before the Hall of Presidents and the creation of Audio-Animatronics, Disney film animators had defined 12 principles for the artificial production of emotion as described in The Illusion of Life.

1840: PT Barnum’s imported automata

One of the world’s most sophisticated automatons, the ‘Draughtsman-Writer’ lives in the Franklin Museum in Philadelphia. This machine had a memory capable of producing four drawings and three poems.

Built around 1800 by Swiss mechanician Henri Maillardet, it toured the world. The Draughtsman-Writer was probably acquired by PT Barnum in the 1840s for one of his museums, either in New York or Philadelphia, joining other automata on show. Sadly both Barnum’s museums were destroyed by fire.

In 1928, the Brock family donated the badly burnt remains of the Draughtsman-Writer to the Franklin Institute, where it was restored by one of the museum’s staff and has been on display ever since. More information here

1867: Goodwin’s Mechanical Horse

Goodwin is an American inventor who may have created the first walking mechanism for toys. He patented a walking doll and a walking horse, as well as a number of other mechanisms for agriculture and engines, including a planetary gear-box.

Life-size mechanical horses and men were created at the National Ironworks in New Jersey for the Philadelphia Centennial celebrations in 1876 from Goodwin’s designs. More information here

1877: Edison’s Uncanny Valley

Invented in 1877, with mass production intended by 1890, Edison’s talking dolls were a complete failure. At 18” tall these lovely little girls sang lullabies and gave everybody nightmares. Not only were the dolls super creepy, but the wax recording cylinders were fragile and each song required removing the clothing to hand crank the doll. They were also quite expensive for a doll at that time. More information here

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory working with the Library of Congress has been able to extract and digitize the recordings without damaging the original wax cylinders. The recordings have been collected online. Go on. I dare you.

1890: Radio and teleoperation with Tesla

Tesla filed the first patent for radio in 1896 and developed a radio controlled remote operated boat to be a demonstration model. This ‘Teleautomoton’ was able to move in various directions as directed, and also to flash signal lights on the mast. For example, to answer questions like “What is the square root of 64?” by flashing eight times.

To most people of the time, Tesla’s demonstration looked like magic, or the work of a well trained monkey, in spite of his efforts to then explain the controls and mechanisms. In 1898, Tesla gave demonstrations at Madison Square Garden and by 1899, Tesla’s improved model was able to perform some autonomous actions.

PBS.org says that “Tesla’s invention is literally the birth of robotics, though he is seldom recognized for this accomplishment.” For more information and also here.

1900: Automation and automobiles

The birth of the automobile assembly line, while often credited to Henry Ford can actually be traced back to Oldsmobile from 1901. The Oldsmobile Curved Dashboard Model was made on a progressive moving assembly line, although vehicles were manually progressed or pushed from one station to the next.

Ford improved on this by introducing the continuously moving and synchronized assembly line starting in 1913. There is strong synergy between automation, robotics and automobiles. Vehicle production is the first real market for robotics and automation, and vehicles are themselves becoming robots. For more information

1900: Automats

First showcased in Berlin in 1895, Horn and Hardart brought the Automat concept to America, opening the first in 1902 in Philadelphia, reaching New York City by 1912. Automats quickly gained popularity in America during the early 20th century, especially among the growing workforce seeking fast and affordable dining options.

With their shiny chrome exteriors and a variety of fresh meals inside, automats became a symbol of progress and innovation in the United States. As a result, Horn and Hardart’s became the largest restaurant chain in the United States, serving hundreds of thousands of people a day at its peak.

America ditched the Automat in the 50s and 60s in favor of fast food to go, particularly via drive-thrus. However they remained popular elsewhere, particularly in Japan. Recent years have seen a renewal of interest in the concept, from tablet or QR code based ordering to robot pizza delivery. More information here and also here

1920: Televox, the first household robot

In 1923, Roy James Wensley had invented and patented a ‘suspervisory control system’ to remotely control equipment via power lines, wireless or telephone lines. In 1927, Wensley expanded this to remote control by sound or tones as the “Televox” system.

The initial boxes looked sufficiently anthropomorphic that all subsequent demos involved a robot body. Usually a metal body, but sometimes on tour a cardboard cutout would be used instead. More information here

1930: Elektro and Appliances

The Chicago World’s Fair in 1939 showcased a novel Westinghouse appliance - Elektro and his wonder dog Sparko. Elektro could walk, talk, smoke cigarettes and tell (bad) jokes. Elektro was also responding to rudimentary voice control.

Elektro and Sparko were in fact a continuation of Westinghouse’s work in switching gears and electronic substations as first demonstrated by Televox. It turned out to be a stroke of PR genius to add names, faces, bodies and personalities to relays and control units. People loved Elektro and Sparko, who proceeded to tour the country hawking kitchen appliances for Westinghouse. More informaton here

Did I miss something? What should come next? What are the biggest milestones for robotics and AI?

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Robotics News

When Sony released a robotic dog called AIBO in Tokyo in May of 1999, the first batch of 3,000 units sold out online in 20 minutes — and today, more than 800 of those same AIBOs have been given traditional Buddhist funerals at a 450-year-old temple in Chiba Prefecture, where a priest chants sutras for the peaceful transition of their souls - Space Daily

The Quest to Make Humanoid Robots Safe Enough for Humans - WSJ

Are Humanoid Robots Ready to Be Deployed? - The New Yorker

Boston Dynamics’ New Atlas Humanoid Robot: ‘Order Of Magnitude’ Simpler - Forbes

Boston Dynamics CEO: America’s next 250 years will be built by robots. Here’s what’s standing in the way - Fortune

Robot hand company settles Tesla trade secret suit and announces $11M raise - TechCrunch

Half of Unitree, the “grandfather” of robots is completely sold out - 36KR

Chinese robot maker Unitree wins approval for $619 million Shanghai IPO - Reuters

Which Are Better For Humanoid Robots: Legs or Wheels? - WSJ Video

Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group rushes into humanoid robots with a dozen deals in 18 months - CNBC

Maison Roboto Begins Field Testing of Robot Fashion During Kung Fu-Inspired Humanoid Mobility Trials in China - TMX Newsfile

Hegseth stands up a new drone office with authority on everything from one-way attack drones to ground robots and boats - Business Insider

Defense manufacturing emerges as Pentagon bottleneck - Federal News Network

AeroVironment’s Big Bet Gets a Pentagon Payday - Yahoo Finance

Autonomous drone startup Quantum Systems raises $1.2 billion as investors pile into defense - CNBC

Major Union Livid After 1,000 Factory Workers Were Replaced With 50 Robots - Futurism

GM lays off over 1,000 workers at Detroit plant, adds 50 robots: ‘We are in a fight for humanity.’ Progress or betrayal? - Yahoo Finance

Core Memory

He Came From Oz To Save American Manufacturing - EP 80 Chris Power

A few years ago, I was lunching with a young Australian man who told me he hoped to modernize manufacturing in America. This man seemed enthusiastic and ambitious, but I must confess to holding some …

Listen now

2 months ago · 10 likes · Ashlee Vance

Robots, not chatbots, will realise AI’s potential - Financial Times

South Korean shops turn to robots, self-service to escape labour woes - Reuters

Autonomous construction bots are building the solar infrastructure behind Meta’s massive Hyperion data center - Business Insider

Apptronik turns robot simulations into reality - Semafor

Tesla Optimus project fires up as Musk sees production line progress - Teslarati

Elon Musk Says Optimus Production Will Be ‘Extremely Slow’ in the Beginning: ‘This is Not Like Making a Car’ - Benzinga

Rivian CEO frets about supply chain amid critical R2 launch - Axios

BMW Group deploys Figure 03 humanoid after tests with previous version - The Robot Report

A $7,999 home robot joins the race to automate household chores - Business Insider

Video Friday: An Earthbound Mars Rover for the Moon: Your weekly selection of awesome robot videos - IEEE Spectrum

My mom wants a sex robot. Will China or the U.S. give it to her first? - SF Standard

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Events

REGISTER HERE

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Bots, Bevs & Devs - Santa Clara - July 8

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 35

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

Humanoid Hype

It had to happen. The Trump family is involved in a humanoid robot company which is now selling robot warfighters to the U.S. army.

Two humanoid robots nicknamed “Phantom MK-1” were deployed to Ukraine, which has been in a state of war since last February. Standing 180 cm tall and weighing 80 kg, these black-bodied robots with robust builds evoke comparisons to Batman. They were tasked with transporting supplies to high-risk war zones. The Phantom MK-1 is a military-grade humanoid developed by the U.S. startup “Foundation Future Industries.” Specializing in combat-ready humanoids, the company collaborates with the U.S. Department of Defense. Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, has also joined as chief strategy advisor.

Foundation Future Industries was established in San Francisco, U.S. in 2024. With the mission to create “autonomous machines that can do what humanity desires,” the company is developing industrial and military humanoids. Its flagship products include the humanoid “Phantom” and the artificial intelligence (AI) system “Cortex” that powers it. Read more here

Foundation Future Industries is the latest startup from Sankaet Pathak, founder/CEO of failed fintech startup Synapse which filed for bankruptcy in 2024 with tens of millions of dollars in consumer deposits unaccounted for. According to The Information, Pathak was attempting to raise $100M at a $1Billion valuation in 2025. Now he’s shipping humanoids to the Ukraine and testing humanoids firing mortars with the U.S. Dept of Warfare.

Hard Working Humanoids

Meanwhile on the other side of the hype cycle, Agility Robotics is going public in a SPAC with Churchill Capital at a proposed valuation of $2.5Billion. This is a significantly different moment than the frothy peak SPAC era of 2020 and 2021 when dozens of self-driving technology companies went public in reverse mergers. That bubble burst in 2022 when rising interest rates, changing investor sentiment and regulatory scrutiny caused public valuations of these companies to plummet.

In general, going public via an IPO is only a practical option for a company with trailing annual revenue of $100M-$200M, which rules out that pathway for earlier stage companies. China’s Ubtech was able to IPO in late 2023 on the strength of a whole range of commercial offerings. Ubtech, which was founded in 2012, raised approx $1Billion in their Hong Kong stock exchange listing allowing them to fund the expansion of their robotics production towards industrial humanoid robots.

Agility Robotics has successful commercial deployments at GXO, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Schaeffler and Mercado Libre, with more than 65,000 hours of safe and reliable operation in production environments. However Agility still required significant capital to fund the production of their next generation collaborative robots.

The Company is now preparing for the commercial launch of Digit v5, its next-generation humanoid robot designed to be the world’s first cooperatively safe humanoid. Agility has already secured more than $300 million of multi-year orders for Digit v5, subject to the realization of certain contractual milestones, with a growing pipeline of over 30 customers, reflecting growing demand from enterprises preparing to deploy humanoid robots at scale. Read more here

Agility selected the SPAC route as a fast route to public markets who are eager for access to standalone humanoid robotics companies, as well as for the $420M cash injection. The additional $200M PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity) at $10/share includes significant investment from Foxconn. Other major Agility investors include NVIDIA, Amazon, and Softbank. It’s a smart move for one of the first movers in the U.S. humanoid landscape and shows significant traction.

The public listing is not going to be completed until Q4 but early indications are good. Churchill stock is up from $10 to $13.86 (on Friday close). Hopefully it’s not a SpaceX situation, but then, the humanoid bar is set a lot lower.

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SNF Nostos: Humanoids, Hype or reality?

Meanwhile in Athens, I’ve had the privilege of attending and speaking at the incredible 30th SNF Nostos celebration of philanthropy and democracy. Minas Liarokapis from Acumino and the Humanoid Olympiad curated a session on “Physical AI & Humanoids: Hype vs Reality” with Hon Weng Chong, David Cleaves, myself and Daniela Rus.

For this audience I focused on “The Five Laws of Robotics”, a workable framework for the intersection of robots and humanity, informed by the EPSRC Principles of Robotics.

Rodney Brooks spoke in the next session and was suitably sceptical about the role of hype in the current wave of humanoid companies. When he was CEO of Rethink Robotics, Brooks shipped the first commercially deployed humanoid, Baxter. He says the real point of difference between a pilot and a commercial deployment isn’t the contract, it’s whether or not you get woken at 3am to go fix your robots.

Since Rethink Robotics, Brooks has pivoted to a less humanoid form factor with the collaborative robot carts from Robust.ai.

Full recordings here.

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics News

Antoniq Robotics from Portugal is out of stealth, building embodied AI for agriculture.

European robotics start-ups go up against Chinese heavyweights - Yahoo

Morgan Stanley doubles China humanoid robot shipment forecast as commercialization accelerates - CNBC

South Korea’s growing role in humanoid robot development - Goldman Sachs

2,000 combat robots ordered for Ukraine in Germany deal - Defence Blog

Ukraine is putting weapons stations on ground robots to make ‘small tanks’ that hunt Russia’s infiltration teams - Business Insider

Nvidia seeks to make humanoid AI robots safer around humans - Los Angeles Times

Nvidia Is Tackling a Hidden Problem in Humanoid Robots — And Solving It Could Make the Technology Widespread - Entrepreneur

Genesis AI grows to 60 employees, ramps up hiring in Silicon Valley - Silicon Valley Business Journal

General Intuition raises $320M to use video game data to train robots - The Robot Report

Bear Robotics to Acquire Kinisi Robotics, Completing Its End-to-End Physical AI Robotics Platform - ACN Newswire

Robotaxis drive miles just to get cleaned and charged; this new startup wants to fix that - TechCrunch

Amid Amazon’s Robot Surge, Proteus Charts a New Path Forward - CNET

Flippy maker Miso Robotics buys Zume IP to launch pizza automation - QSR Web

How close are we to having robot butlers - Financial Review

Can this $125,000 robot be my friend - MSN

‘Digit’ maker Agility Robotics to go public in $2.5B deal — here’s what the filings say about its finances - GeekWire

Tech entrepreneurs seeking the next AI frontier are pivoting from chatbots to ‘world models’ - KRON4

Robots will replace 700,000 workers - Yahoo Finance

Robots will replace 700,000 delivery workers ‘sooner or later’, warns JD.com boss - Financial Times

Hyundai workers in South Korea vote to strike over fears of robots replacing them - Financial Times

‘Who is going to pay us when we’re replaced by robots?’ The Indian factory workers told to film themselves for AI - The Guardian

Robotics Events

REGISTER HERE

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Bots, Bevs & Devs - Santa Clara - July 8

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 35Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

Business Insider just published “Meet the 22 investors to know in robotics and physical AI” and while I don’t disagree with their choices, if you’ve ever fundraised for a robotics company then you know that the people you need to talk to are rarely on lists like this which includes:

• Aidan Madigan-Curtis, Eclipse Ventures

• Ajay Agarwal, Bain Capital Ventures

• Bilal Zuberi, Red Glass Ventures

• Brian Zhan, Striker Venture Partners

• Jeremy Levine and Talia Goldberg, Bessemer Venture Partners

• Joanne Lichter, Emerson Collective

• Kahini Shah, Obvious Ventures

• Katherine Boyle, Andreessen Horowitz

• Kelly Chen

• Kevin Spain and Jake Saper, Emergence Capital

• Matt Ocko, DCVC

• Neil Mehta, Greenoaks Capital

• Raviraj Jain, Lightspeed Venture Partners

• Sarah Guo, Conviction

• Seth Winterroth, Eclipse

• Shahin Farshchi, Lux Capital

• Shaun Maguire, Sequoia Capital

• Sven Strohband and Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

• Trae Stephens, Founders Fund

Some of these investors attended Silicon Valley Robotics first Investor Summits back in 2012, 2013 and I’d like to also give a shout out to Aymerik Renard, Hardware Club, Steve Goldberg, DYDX Capital. Others have discovered robotics comparatively lately.

Yet, the majority of robotics investments tap from a pool of more than thousand unique robotics investors or VC firms. If you raise, you have about a 2% chance of having one of the well known robotics investors on your cap table.

Robotics and Physical AI has raised more than $23 Billion globally in 2026, looking likely to overtake a high water mark of approx $35 Billion in 2025. The 1100 companies that raised rounds in 2025 have a total of 5700 investors on their cap tables. While the top investors may feature in a wide range of rounds, there are still a lot of unsung ‘heroes’ in the robotics investment space.

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Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Recruitment

Symbiokinetics

Symbiokinetics builds robotic systems that learn skilled physical interaction from human experts. Our robots operate in direct contact with people in high-stakes environments. They need to feel intuitive, predictable, and be completely safe.

Symbiokinetics is looking for several full time positions in Sunnyvale, CA:

• Senior Electronics Design Engineer (apply via Linked In)

• More positions (not yet on Linked In)

  • Research Engineer, Robot Learning

  • Embedded Systems Engineer

  • Senior Robotics Controls Engineer — pHRI

  • Hardware NPI & Manufacturing Engineer

FLX Solutions

FLX Solutions creates the smallest, most customizable, most affordable snake-like robot in the world. FLX has a lot of large scale customer projects on the roadmap and are looking for a Senior Operations Manager to handle the demand. FLX is also looking for a Software Lead: Firmware and Robotics, and a Senior Mechanical Product Engineer. FLX is based in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, looking for local talent but open to remote workers.

More information on the FLX Career Page

Robotics News

What Amazon’s Astro Taught Me About Giving Robots a Soul - IEEE Spectrum

Autonomous Trucks Can Be Life-Saving - Bloomberg

Chinese Autonomous-Driving Unicorn Targets $1 Billion Hong Kong IPO - WSJ

No, It’s Not Nearly Impossible To Make A China-Free Humanoid Robot - Forbes

The Robot Butler Boom Has Begun and China Is Way Ahead - Inc

Collecting robot training data is dirty, unglamorous work. Some AI labs are already paying XDOF to do it. - TechCrunch

The State of Industrial Robotics - Foundation for American Innovation

LG’s Long Bet on Artificial Intelligence Begins to pay Off in the Physical World - Insight Korea

China pushes humanoid robots from demonstrations to real-world jobs - CGTN

Operating a Humanoid With Your Body Is a Hot Job in China’s hardware Capital - Wired

Hyundai to buy SoftBank’s remaining stake in Boston Dynamics for $325 mln, newspaper says - Reuters

“Who fixes the robots?”… The gaps in the robot industry identified by Ifelse CEO Cho Hyun-min - VentureSquare

He made your free video player run smoothly. Now he’s doing that for robots. - TechCrunch

Built Robotics, Penn xLAB to develop physical AI for construction - The Robot Report

Waymo hits the brakes after robotaxis keep missing the signs for freeway construction zones - The Register

Rivian’s CEO Is Taking On Elon Musk In Humanoid Robots - Benzinga

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe Warns That the U.S. Isn’t Prepared for AI’s Impact on This 1 Type of Job - Inc

7 Robotics Startups to Watch Right Now - Inc (paywalled)

Humanoid Robots: 18 Companies Racing To Build The Next Big Think In AI - Forbes (paywalled)

New wheeled robot says no thanks to humanoid hype - FoxNews

‘We had to get out of the way’: The backlash over delivery robots - BBC

Robots pour cocktails and run marathons, but still can’t multitask - The Japan Times

PepsiCo Enhances Supply Chain With Autonomous Fleet - SupplyChainDigital

Rockwell Automation Introduces Execution Architecture to Support Autonomous, Scalable Manufacturing Operations - Supply and Demand Chain

Scientists in ‘autonomous laboratories’ are starting to outsource work to robots - NPR KQED

The lab never sleeps. Can the science keep up? - Scientific American

Do robots even need legs? Video Friday - IEEE Spectrum

Robotics Events

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Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Automate - Chicago - June 22 - June 25

Deep Tech Week - San Francisco - June 22 - June 26

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Bots, Bevs & Devs - Santa Clara - July 8

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 35Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2

SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

We’re less than one year into the Agentic AI reality and already the gloss is wearing off the dream, and the reality is looking grim. The problem is that Agentic AI is actually democratizing access to functional AI, AI that does a lot of different things in the digital world. Forget the horror stories about people losing money when they give agents access to their wallets. That’s not the real problem.

The problem is that all of a sudden coding is easy. So easy that anyone can code. So easy that software engineers are expected to 10x or 100x their output. So easy that everyone expects 10x or 100x more software. For everything.

What worries me is that no one is going to have the time to create good software anymore because they are too busy fixing all the AI generated slop. Agentic AI is the worst weapon of mass distraction.

Garbage in, garbage out.

There is almost no cost in creating code but there’s still a huge human cost in checking, troubleshooting or fixing code. This keeps flowing downstream. First it’s burnt out engineers and an abundance of bad code. Now, companies are starting to count the cost of letting Agentic Ai loose anywhere in the stack.

Sadly, it’s really too late. Agentic AI was trained on all the code on the internet. That’s not good. That’s a lot of very bad code. Good code is short and sweet so proportionately there’s a lot less good code online than there is bad code. And there’s been no incentive to get rid of all of those beginner Github repositories.

When code moved at the pace of software engineers, you might have to search past the first few answers on Stack Overflow but you didn’t have to search thousands of answers. Github is starting to go down under the weight of agentic pull requests.

Sure it’s an intellectually interesting solution. Certainly there will be a few crawling out of the proteanic slime. But we need to see evidence of fitness, of survival and utility in the real world over a period of time.

In the meantime, all the code on the internet is now 100x worse than it was just one year ago. This is one instance when more data will not solve the problem.

For me, it’s one more reason why robotics is the best part of the AI revolution.

First came the robots. Then came the cameras. That’s when this Colorado mountain town had enough.

via The Trust Project and The Colorado Sun

First, it was the robots. They were trundling along sidewalks in Paonia last summer gathering data on how accommodating those thoroughfares were for people with disabilities. The wandering robots took townspeople by complete surprise.

Curious about the robot? It was a Dax ADA robot, an urban service robot used to check sidewalk compliance from Oregon company Daxbot. Daxbot also makes security robots and in 2022 ran a successful crowdfunding investment campaign on Start Engine which raised almost $500k.

Then came the surveillance cameras mounted on poles and walls last fall. They were capturing those doing business at the town hall, coming and going from the town’s water plant, and dancing in front of the town park’s bandstand. Even those with impressive Western swing moves weren’t happy to unknowingly be caught on camera.

What was up with all these high-tech, data-scooping devices in Paonia, an agriculture-centric town of 1,500 in the North Fork Valley?

The answer to that isn’t clear. But it has prompted the most strife to hit Paonia since two decades ago when mosquito fogging ignited a controversy that culminated in the bombing of the town’s mosquito-control building.

Read more here

The controversy has gotten so convoluted and heated that some town residents jokingly want robots to take over running the town. Once conflict starts over the roll out of technology, it can quickly spread to every type of tech and every change. It can also lead to death threats, property destruction and political turmoil.

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Reuters: 46 robotics IPOs in pipeline for Hong Kong alone, more to follow

HONG KONG, June 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Unitree Robotics’ upcoming Shanghai IPO is meant to showcase China’s pioneering industry. Instead, the company led by Wang Xingxing lays bare the ​risks facing manufacturers and investors.

Formally known as Yushu Technology, the group was the world’s largest humanoid-robot maker ‌by sales last year. Its dancing robots gained nationwide fame after performing at the 2025 Spring Festival television gala, watched by 17 million viewers. Weeks later, the then 34-year-old Wang nabbed a coveted front-row seat at a summit hosted by President Xi Jinping.

The bet is that ​robots will eventually replace workers in factories, homes and elsewhere. Morgan Stanley analysts forecast China will have ​around 300 million humanoids in use by 2050. That would require manufacturers like Unitree, which sold ⁠just 5,500 machines last year, to vastly boost production.

That helps explain why the decade-old business is aiming for a ​punchy valuation of $6.2 billion, as reported by IFR. Unitree expects first-half net profit attributable to shareholders of up to 283 ​million yuan ($42 million), excluding one-offs. On an annualised basis, that implies an eye-raising price-to-earnings multiple of 74 times. Listed rivals like the $7.6 billion UBtech Robotics (9880.HK), opens new tab and smaller Shenzhen Dobot (2432.HK), opens new tab remain in the red.

But for now tech is a hurdle: even relatively sophisticated models lack the necessary ​dexterity and intelligence for basic tasks outside of controlled environments, like pouring a glass of water or plugging in a ​cable. Unitree’s IPO prospectus readily acknowledges that so far there are limited commercial applications for its four-legged “dogs” and humanoids. Scientific research and ‌education account ⁠for the bulk of sales.

Moreover, competition is intensifying. Unitree’s first-quarter adjusted net profit tumbled 53%, to 40 million yuan, from a year ago even though sales rose 68% in the same period. The company blames higher research and development costs, which totaled a tenth of revenue, plus price cuts to its models as new rivals crowd in.

Price wars look imminent. ​There are at least 46 robotics, opens new tab ​companies in the IPO pipeline ⁠for Hong Kong alone, according to Bloomberg. Many more could follow. China has over 450,000, opens new tab registered companies in the sector, state media reported last year. It’s a pattern that is playing ​out in other tech-driven industries, from autos to AI. Wang’s robots already face a reckoning.

Article on Reuters

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics Recruitment

Symbiokinetics

Symbiokinetics builds robotic systems that learn skilled physical interaction from human experts. Our robots operate in direct contact with people in high-stakes environments. They need to feel intuitive, predictable, and be completely safe.

Symbiokinetics is looking for several full time positions in Sunnyvale, CA:

• Research Engineer, Robot Learning

• Embedded Systems Engineer

• Senior Robotics Controls Engineer — pHRI

• Hardware NPI & Manufacturing Engineer

Link to more information about each position.

Interested in taking the next steps? Submit your contact information

Robotics News

Clothing humanoid robots new mission for Hansae - The Korea Times

First look: This weird wearable device turns human workers into robot data collectors - Business Insider

House Robots Are Coming—and They Will Be Dangerously Cute - Ryan Calo in WSJ

Why it’s nearly impossible to build a robot without China - The Japan Times

Humanoid robotics company raises up to $1.4 billion from Nvidia, Amazon and others - CNBC

Humanoids robot manufacturer EngineAI is said to file for Hong Kong IPO - Bloomberg

Standard Bots raises $200 million to manufacture robots in the US - Bloomberg

Theker just raises $85 million to build the factory robot that doesn’t specialize in anything - TechCrunch

This robotics CEO wants to automate the work that makes people quit - Business Insider

BCW 2026: Bosch pushes ahead with technologies for automation and robotics - Bosch

From electric cars to humanoids: Xpeng boss takes over robotics unit at ‘turning point’ - South China Morning Post

The first ever robotics rescue at sea is a milestone - The Economist

Can robots build new towns — and other blue-sky thinking - Financial Times

Question: If Neura Robotics gets the body from Han Robotics in China, and the brain from Bosch, is Neura a humanoid company and why is Neura worth billions?

Leave a comment

Robotics Events

REGISTER HERE

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 01 - June 05

ROS Meetup @ ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 2

IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston - June 10 - June 11

Automate - Chicago - June 22 - June 25

Deep Tech Week - San Francisco - June 22 - June 26

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Bots, Bevs & Devs - Santa Clara - July 8

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug tbd

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

Robotics is looking good again with May recording the largest amount of venture investment since the start of 2025 - in dollar terms at least. However Anduril is the elephant in the room, with a whopping $5B in Series H. Even removing Anduril from the total puts the funding level equal to April 2026.

Some of the other big achievers in May include: Mind Robotics, Slamcore, Hypershell, SendCutSend, WiRobotics, Lunar Outpost, and August Robotics, with undisclosed rounds for Apptronik, Rapyuta Robotics, Helm.ai, Lightwheel and EngineAI.

Here’s the break down of May robotics funding data - 107 funding rounds for a total of $7,162,376,013 USD. That’s a slight drop in number of rounds but a big increase in funding dollars. No funding amount is reported for 25% of entries, and large late stage rounds always skew the totals. You can find 2025 in the archives and here are the links to the rest of 2026:

• January

• February

• March

• April

Read more

Verity wins the 2026 IERA Award at the ICRA conference in Vienna, June 4 2026. Launched out of ETH Zurich, Verity emerged from stealth in 2016 by flying drones over a live TED audience. Since then Verity has pioneered drone entertainment with partners like Cirque du Soleil and Metallica, while also delivering business solutions enabling ‘zero-error’ warehouses through automated inventory tracking and analytics for customers like Ikea, Maersk and UPS. One of Verity’s co-founders, Raffaello D’Andrea also cofounded Kiva Systems which was acquired in 2012 by Amazon in one of the first big robotics deals.

The IERA Awards started in 2005 as a partnership between IEEE RAS and the International Federation of Robotics. Previous winners include iRobot, Otto, Fourier, ABB, and many other well known names. After shortlisting three finalists, the finals were held on the Innovation Stage at ICRA Hall C, judged by leading roboticists from around the world, like Ryan Gariepy, Alexander Verl, Takayuki Ito, and Frank Park. Some of the judges had themselves previously won the award.

The two other finalists were Open Nav2 and Innok Robotics. Both gave very impressive presentations and it was particularly exciting to see an open source project as runner up for a global robotics commercialization award.

“Open Navigation has demonstrated an exceptional talent for both community management and software engineering; growing the project, interacting promptly with every bug report and feature request, while simultaneously leading the development of important new features and capabilities.

Through Open Navigation’s leadership, Nav2 continues to be the go-to solution for mobile robot navigation in any environment and provides a solid foundation for numerous new robotics ventures. I support their mission to power the democratization of mobile robotics technology.” Geoff Biggs — CTO, Open Source Robotics Foundation

Something all good founders know about lean startup methodology and manufacturing

Lean does not equal cheap

Too many founders try to save time and money (and control) at the very beginning by using whatever bits and pieces they have available, or know how to work with. This is treating ‘minimum viable product’ as ‘minimum viable effort’. While time is money, this is a shortcut that can cost you time and money in the long run.

A minimum viable product is how you answer a question and reduce a risk. Building only what is necessary to answer the question. Questions look like:

• does the critical core technology work?

• does it work with 99.9% reliability under these circumstances?

• OR is it compatible with something else?

• and can my customer visualize adding it to their product/workflow/experience

The design field uses ‘works like’ prototypes and ‘looks like’ prototypes.

One allows you to test the way a product should work, without worrying about the appearance, and the other shows the size or appearance of the product without any workings. There’s absolutely no need to put those concepts into the same package when you’re still at early stages and while you’re still changing the design.

I’ve seen startups successfully show three different ‘works like’ lab benchmarks for aspects of their main product. Each version showed a technical solution for one of the fundamental technical risks. That was enough to persuade investors to bet on the team’s capability to turn it into a finished product.

I’ve also seen aerospace engineers need to build a full scale lunar lander (out of plywood and metal poles) just so that customers could see the full cargo space available. Renderings and measurements were not sufficiently compelling. And it was definitely bigger than I expected.

Mistakes don’t add problems, they multiply them

At prototyping stage, you also need to consider the ‘manufactures like’ version. As early as possible. In a compound system mistakes are not additive, they are exponential and the faster you build, the more poor choices you might make and in the end you might never get to manufacture.

I have seen a great concept startup fail to get follow on funding because they went from prototype design to commercial product design, which was too expensive for initial low volume sales. Some parts of the manufacturing process (like mold making) have built in volume requirements. I’ve also seen startups discover that their ultimate BOM was much more expensive than expected.

A mistake doesn’t just add time and cost - it multiplies time and cost.

Every choice counts

50% reduction of design space with every single component choice - every choice exponentially reduces your options. Of course, if you don’t make choices or if you spend too long agonizing over them, then you also run out of time/money. All this means that you need to be thinking design for manufacture from the very beginning.

Several years ago I and the Deep Tech Team at IEEE Entrepreneurship interviewed robotics and clean tech startup founders about the biggest challenges they faced. Everyone starts with saying they needed more money, but in reality, the hardest problems that founders faced related to the prototype to product pathway, balanced against their funding.

That’s why we developed the Manufacturing Checklist and Workshops with Experts - in conjunction with Investor Roundtables. Next one is Boston June 10-11, 2026

Leave a comment

IEEE Entrepreneurship Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston

June 10-11, 2026 - Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center (MCEC)
Boston, MA

Fueling Hard Tech growth through capital, mentorship, and resources. Designed specifically for Pre-Seed to Series A startups building complex physical technologies.

See what attendees experienced at April 2026 Summit

See what our attendees experienced at last year’s Summit

Why Attend?

• High-Impact Engagement: Historically maintains a 2:1 startup-to-investor ratio.

• Roundtable Discussions: Unique opportunities to connect directly with investors.

• Technical Problem Solving: Receive hands-on guidance from manufacturing experts to solve hurdles.

• Strategic Partnerships: Accelerate fundraising, production, and market entry.

APPLY NOW!

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Reservoir Farms launches free Associate tier with real working farm access

The Associate tier is our answer. Zero cost. Real farm access. No hand-holding — teams come prepared to run their own trials — but a professional setting, a real operation, and a path into the broader Reservoir community if the fit is right.

If you know a team — anywhere in the world — that needs to get on a farm and prove what they've built, send them our way.

reservoir.co/for-startups/

Robotics News

The robot puppeteers of Silicon Valley teaching humanoids how to make your morning coffee - Yahoo News

Is Silicon Valley ready to put robots in people’s homes? Hello Robot is. - TechCrunch

A robot is helping an ailing couple stay in their home. Are more to come for an aging population? - AP News

Vietnam’s Vingroup Unveils Two Humanoid Robots In One Week — A Guide Bot And A Factory Bot - TechTimes

1X Launches Humanoid Robot World Model Lab: ‘You Can’t Fine-Tune Your Way To AGI’ - Forbes

Jensen Huang Says Humanoid Robots Are ‘Very Very Close’ To Industrial Reality As Nvidia, Hyundai Deepen Alliance - Yahoo Finance

In China, robots began to be issued “digital passports”: humanoids received 29-digit IDs - HiTech.UA

CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter: Humanoid robots are great, but they need buyers too - CNBC

Sam Altman is quietly backing a stealth startup that’s building software for robots and cars - Business Insider

Uber, Wayve and Waymo are headed toward a robotaxi showdown in London - TechCrunch

Amazon unveils latest warehouse robot as tech giants continue AI layoffs - CNBC

Humanoid Robots Investment Race Heats Up: Goldman 6x Forecast, China Leads With Spy Law - TechTimes

The skeptic’s guide to humanoid robots going viral on the Internet - ArsTechnica

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 01 - June 05

ROS Meetup @ ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 2

IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston - June 10 - June 11

Automate - Chicago - June 22 - June 25

Deep Tech Week - San Francisco - June 22 - June 26

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Bots, Bevs & Devs - Sunnyvale - July 8

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug tbd

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep tbd

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

REGISTER TODAY

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

The big problem for robotics funding isn’t the technology. It’s the timing. Robotics technology has emerged just in time to catch some tailwinds for early stage funding in the 2012-2020 period, but is now hitting funding headwinds. Ironically, there has never been more money under management in venture capital firms. The issue is that all of this money is increasingly sitting with the new ‘mega’ funds, and not going to small funds, niche investors or first (second and third) time fund managers. That’s not great news for robotics in general, but it does explain why there are a handful of very very rich robotics deals happening.

These days, it’s not how can robots produce value in the world, it’s how can robots unlock mega checks.

What’s happening?

The amount of money that VC funds had to invest was largely stagnant at $300 to $500 billion in the 2008 to 2012 era around the Global Financial Crisis. From 2013 to 2021, during the Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) era, the Limited Partners that fund funds moved out of the stock market and into venture capital. The number of active venture capital firms expanded from approx 1000 to over 4000, with US Assets Under Management (AUM) reaching $1.5 trillion. During this period Asian funds also increased significantly in size to rival US based funds.

Since 2022 interest rates have risen and the number of exits, IPOs or M&As have dropped, leading to a plateau in the amount of new money entering venture funds. Although the total amount of money is still huge, the actual number of LPs behind VC funds has halved. Smaller LPs are not participating and smaller funds are struggling to raise money. With 50% fewer LPs investing in venture funds, the LPs that remain are required to write larger checks, thus forcing ongoing consolidation towards the new ‘mega’ funds. These mega funds have not just the capability, but the need to write mega checks.

Is there hope?

Perhaps. IPOs are back. This might free up more funds for the smaller funds which are the primary supporters of robotics.

Leave a comment

A Layered Investment Case for Robotics

Bullhound Capital has just released a report with insights from Ralf Gulde (Co-founder & CEO of Sereact), Ariyan Kabir (Co-founder & CEO of GrayMatter Robotics), Prof. Paul Newman (Co-founder & CEO of Oxa, BP Professor of Information Engineering at the University of Oxford), Kier Storey (Co-founder & CTO of Vsim), Daniel Ong (Co-founder & CEO of Menlo Research), Edwin Yap (Founder & CEO of MR. ROBOT), Jeremy Soo (Founder & CEO of Curve Labs), and Nanjing Sensagile, who offer perspectives spanning foundation models, simulation infrastructure, industrial deployment, and the geopolitics of the robotics supply chain.

Key findings:

• Labour scarcity is creating a structural demand floor for robotics – Demographic shifts, retiring skilled workforces, and rising labour costs are creating a long-term automation imperative that is increasingly independent of the economic cycle.

• The deployment moat is difficult to replicate – Real-world production environments generate operational data that cannot be fully recreated in simulation. Companies that deploy first accumulate proprietary learning loops that compound over time.

• Reliability matters more than capability – Unlike digital AI, where models compete primarily on capability, robotics systems compete on reliability, safety, uptime, and outcome accountability.

• The most durable economics may emerge from operational infrastructure – As hardware becomes increasingly commoditised, value shifts toward the layers that own workflow integration, deployment relationships, and recurring operational revenue.

• China, the United States, and Europe remain deeply interconnected – China leads in manufacturing scale and deployment density. The United States leads in AI research and software infrastructure. Europe retains strengths in industrial automation, embedded systems, and deployment expertise. The most investable companies may be those that operate across these ecosystem boundaries rather than within a single geography.

Read more here.

Convertible notes are debt. Cartwheel Robotics founder Scott LaValley warns others.

Scott LaValley has launched a website ‘Cartwheel Info’ documenting the public docket for Cartwheel Robotics’ bankruptcy case. There are plenty of unpleasant lessons for early stage founders along the way. I believe that all robotics founders can learn from Scott’s openness, so here is his Linked In post as well.

The devil is always in the details and probably the hardest thing to focus on when you’re securing fundings is asking what would happen if everything went wrong. Many founders are caught out by preferential rights (giving some investors first call on any funds) and hidden governance/voting/veto powers.

Don’t just think about your employee shares, think about your stakeholder’s rights.

Two stages located in Hall C next to the exhibition Hall B provide an extension of the education program, featuring additional technical presentations and interactive features:

1. Tech Talk Stage

Join us on the Tech Talk Stage in Halle C7 to bridge the gap between industry and academia with our rapid-fire Tech Talks. In just 12 minutes, companies dive into today’s technical challenges and the solutions they’ve built. These sessions serve as the perfect industry complement to academic posters and presentations.

Tech Talk Stage Schedule - click here!

2. Innovation Stage

The Industrial Activities Board (IAB) is hosting the Innovation Stage as a dedicated space for budding robotics entrepreneurs and those interested in ecosystem building and partnerships, along with a set of talks on Standards on Wednesday afternoon. This stage will showcase short talks from the Startup exhibitors, as well as seasoned experts. If you are facing startup challenges, slike preparing to manufacture for the first time or finding the right robotics companies to partner with, then this is a place to be. Come to the Innovation Stage to learn how to avoid some of the pitfalls and be inspired by those who have the scars.

Innovation Stage Schedule - click here!

Robot Parade - June 4

In addition to presentations in Hall C6+7, please join us for the Annual Robot Parade on Thursday, June 4, from 3:00 PM to 3:45 PM in the Exhibition Hall.

Ros Meetup at ICRA - June 2

​Join us at ICRA 2026 for the official ROS user meetup as we gather to celebrate a major milestone for our community. We are thrilled to commemorate the launch of ROS 2 Lyrical Luth, our newest long term support release. Whether you are a seasoned robotics developer or just getting started with the Robot Operating System, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with fellow researchers, engineers, and enthusiasts who are shaping the future of the field.

https://luma.com/xayz5tru

Drone Code Social at ICRA - June 4

Dronecode and Auterion are taking over a corner of the Schweizerhaus, Vienna’s legendary Prater beer garden, for an evening with the PX4 community on the sidelines of ICRA 2026.

​No talks, no slides, no agenda. Just Stelze, Budvar, and the people building the open source stack behind professional drones and aerial robotics.

https://luma.com/5bmh9rl2

Quori Community Meetup - June 4

We are planning an informal, in-person gathering sometime June 4 at ICRA 2026 in Vienna, Austria for current and prospective members of the Quori robotics community. All are welcome!

Quori is an NSF-funded, not-for-profit, open-everything, modular, social robot platform for the robotics research community

The gathering at ICRA will serve as an opportunity to meet with colleagues interested in the Quori robot platform and to network with other researchers interested in human-robot interaction and general robotics.

https://quori.org

IEEE Entrepreneurship Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston

June 10-11, 2026 - Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center (MCEC)
Boston, MA

Fueling Hard Tech growth through capital, mentorship, and resources. Designed specifically for Pre-Seed to Series A startups building complex physical technologies.

See what attendees experienced at April 2026 Summit

See what our attendees experienced at last year’s Summit

Why Attend?

• High-Impact Engagement: Historically maintains a 2:1 startup-to-investor ratio.

• Roundtable Discussions: Unique opportunities to connect directly with investors.

• Technical Problem Solving: Receive hands-on guidance from manufacturing experts to solve hurdles.

• Strategic Partnerships: Accelerate fundraising, production, and market entry.

APPLY NOW!

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Love watching robot live streams?

Plus One Robotics recently shared 8+ solid hours of their system sorting packages, with 3x the throughput of Figure or a human operator. Also no mistakes. And very soothing background music. Bring on the battle of the real robot live streams!

Robotics News

Galaxy Corporation Humanoid Robot Fashion Show in Seoul: Cowboy Hats, Silks, Bowie-Era Trousers - Tech Times

This Trump-linked startup plans to put humanoid robots in the military - CNBC

Former CIA chief Petraeus says drone swarms are the next danger — and growth opportunity - CNBC

An SF startup is secretly testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims - The San Francisco Standard

Unicorn born in record time amid ‘arms race’ among China’s robotic hand developers - SCMP

Humanoid robots ‘the future’ of carmaking, says BMW - BBC (also the future FOR carmakers ;)

Hyundai to send 25,000 Atlas robots to the US - Fox News

Hyundai’s $1.5B bet puts robots and robotaxis in focus - Dallas Express

Robotaxis Are Spreading Across the U.S.—and So Is the Backlash - WSJ

How safe are autonomous vehicles? A look at the state of driverless cars in Texas - Spectrum News

Waymo dominates autonomous vehicle registrations as Tesla left behind - TechCrunch

Autonomous vehicles: when deliveries don’t wait for drivers - DHL

Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana outlines vision for a world of autonomous vehicles - The Stanford Daily

Fanuc, Google advance industrial robotics as part of recent AI deals - Manufacturing Dive

Mecademic Secures Strategic Funding to Drive Global Expansion - A3

Human Archive Raises $8.2M in Seed Round Funding to Model Human Embodied Intelligence to Train Robots - AI Insider

Boston Dynamic’s Schulman on US Robotics Strategy - Bloomberg

NIST proposes a baseline performance benchmark for humanoid robots - The Robot Report

Google DeepMind’s Parada on Robotics Technology - Bloomberg

Rovers, regolith, robots: The blueprint for the moon - Texas A&M

Are you interested in demoing or exhibiting at an event for aged care providers and investors?

CONTACT ME

* June 17 or 18 in the SF Bay Area.

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 01 - June 05

ROS Meetup @ ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 2

IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston - June 10 - June 11

Automate - Chicago - June 22 - June 25

Deep Tech Week - San Francisco - June 22 - June 26

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

REGISTER TODAY

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

Michael Wooldridge, a professor of computer science at the University of Oxford, who has spent more than 30 years studying AI, says that when we worry about job losses or robot takeovers, we’re worrying about the wrong things altogether.

What is keeping him up at night is that a handful of massively powerful companies are wasting data, money, and energy in a race that may not actually benefit any of us.

It’s not that Wooldridge is opposed to AI or robots either. In 2025, he received the Royal Society’s prestigious Faraday Prize for communicating science to the public. His accompanying lecture, from February 2026, was titled This Is Not the AI We Were Promised.

Wooldridge is the author of Life Lessons from Game Theory: The Art of Thinking Strategically in a Complex World, a book that applies the logic of strategic decision-making to explain everything from geopolitics to Silicon Valley’s most self-destructive habits. Life Lessons from Game Theory was published on 21 May. To support the Guardian, buy a copy at guardianbookshop.com

* I’ve enjoyed reading it. Tldr, it is definitely aimed at the general public, so no math. Perhaps my biggest takeaway was getting an insight into the overall history of game theory and current directions in ‘mechanism design’, which I find far more hopeful. Also this is very relevant to robotics in society because it asks for a theoretical underpinning of what happens if you design and choose the rules of encounter.

Key lessons for robotics founders from Sebastian Thrun

“You only gain hindsight by moving forward.”

• Building in robotics is an uphill battle by design. The founders who get there fastest will move through mistakes, not around them. Building here means making bad decisions most of the time, and you can only gain hindsight from moving forward.

• The hardware-software divide is the robotics industry’s most overlooked problem. Most builders are too specialized in one discipline to see the full picture. The strongest teams bridge both worlds, understanding both software and hardware.

• Building a wedge isn’t always necessarily easier. The incremental path feels safer but is often harder with less capital, less talent, and thinner margins. Ambitious goals attract the resources needed to actually succeed.

• Know what actually motivates you beyond financial reward. Financial reward fades as motivation. Founders who stay energized through the long middle are driven by something deeper. Getting clarity on that early enough makes all the difference.

• Be arrogant about the goal, humble about the path. Founders: hold your destination firmly, but stay genuinely open about how you get there. Ego is what fractures companies from the inside.

• Genuinely befriend the regulators — “They mean well, the same way you mean well.” Regulators want safety and innovation, too. Bring them along early, and they’ll want you to win.

• Even the savviest builders can’t predict what’s coming next. Stay humble about what’s coming, as the next breakthrough will blindside everyone.

Read the full article from Bessemer Venture Partners Robotics Day 2026

CB Insights AI 100 Includes Physical AI Startups

According to CB Insights proprietary analysis and labelling, these physical AI startups are amongst the 100 most promising in 2026. Congratulations to:

Robotics Software & Models

• Augmentus (US/Singapore) provides no-code adaptive automation for surface finishing, material removal, welding, and more in high-mix, high-variability manufacturing.

• FieldAI (US) was built by veterans from DeepMind, NASA JPL, Tesla, NVIDIA, Amazon, to provide field proven autonomy software across unknown and highly dynamic environments.

• Generalist (US) scales embodied foundation models for mastery of simple physical tasks with GEN-1, taking a step towards generalist intelligence for the physical world.

• InOrbit.ai (US) ‘makes robots work’, providing the AI-powered robot orchestration platform driving software-defined operations at scale.

Robots & Enabling Hardware

• Blue Water (US) builds autonomous ships for the open ocean, designed for endurance, reliability and to evolve with the needs of the defense industry.

• BOS (Israel) is part of the BOS group for automation and logistics, providing fully automated solutions from molding machines to “Ready To Sell” products.

• The Bot Co (US) is Kyle Vogt’s new company, building a helpful robot for every home.

• Dyna (US) is building embodied AGI through high-performance robots that scale.

• Gravis Robotics (Switzerland) retrofits construction machines with the Gravis RACK, sensors and an intuitive touchscreen control for safer construction sites and superhuman productivity.

• Humanoid (UK) is building the most reliable, safe, and helpful humanoid robots.

• Persona AI (US) develops industrial humanoid robots designed for real work environments such as shipyards, construction sites, and energy infrastructure.

Humanoids 2026 - Call for Partners

• What: 2026 IEEE RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots

• When: December 6-9, 2026

• Where: Santa Clara, California, USA

• Web: https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org

OVERVIEW: Humanoids 2026 aims at bringing together top researchers from humanoid robotics and related disciplines with leading companies in the field. In light of a year of rapidly evolving humanoid technologies with several new platforms coming onto the market and bringing us closer to a wider real-world deployment. Our community envisions innovative areas in humanoid robotics that lie at the intersection of general-purpose physical, cognitive, and motor capabilities, while also considering the scientific understanding of interactions with humanoid and anthropomorphic systems.

SCHEDULE: The conference will be organized as a 4-day event opening on December 6th (Sunday) with public panels, seminars, and hackathons, followed by workshops and tutorials on December 7th (Monday), followed by 2 days December 8th-9th (Tuesday-Wednesday) for the main conference with plenaries, keynotes, oral and interactive sessions, and industry events. A centrally located exhibition will feature the latest humanoid technology from both industry and academia.

EXHIBITION: Industry leaders are eager to see your organization’s latest developments, connect, learn, and collaborate. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a strong, in-person impression. For more information contact Hall-Erickson, Inc: humanoids@heiexpo.com

We look forward to your contributions to Humanoids 2026!

The Humanoids 2026 General Chairs:

• Andra Keay (Silicon Valley Robotics)

• Ross Mead (Semio)

IEEE Entrepreneurship Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston

June 10-11, 2026 - Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center (MCEC)
Boston, MA

Fueling Hard Tech growth through capital, mentorship, and resources. Designed specifically for Pre-Seed to Series A startups building complex physical technologies.

See what attendees experienced at April 2026 Summit

See what our attendees experienced at last year’s Summit

Why Attend?

• High-Impact Engagement: Historically maintains a 2:1 startup-to-investor ratio.

• Roundtable Discussions: Unique opportunities to connect directly with investors.

• Technical Problem Solving: Receive hands-on guidance from manufacturing experts to solve hurdles.

• Strategic Partnerships: Accelerate fundraising, production, and market entry.

APPLY NOW!

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics News

From Concept to Reality: How OLogic Has Delivered More Than 300 Robotics Projects - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Will Robotics Have a ChatGPT Moment? > A single breakthrough AI moment in robotics may not be the answer - IEEE Spectrum

What AI taxis and robots can learn from bees - The Conversation

Intel (INTC) Introduces Core Ultra Series 3 Processors for Edge AI Robotics - Intel Newsroom

Google’s Gemini Robotics Push Signals the Next AI War. Hyundai Is Already Moving - KMJournal

Gecko Robotics Explores Next-Generation Inspection Capabilities with Ouster’s New REV8 Native Color Lidar - BusinessWire

GE Vernova to Acquire Robotech Automation, Expanding Robotics and Automation Capabilities - CityBiz

Locus Robotics acquires Nexera, advancing mobile manipulation - Evertiq

Persona AI teams with Under Armour to protect next-gen robots - Houston Innovation

Elon Musk’s neuralink reveals new robotics systems for BCI brain implant surgeries - MobiHealthNews

Google joins Japanese robotics giant to power next-gen autonomous factory robots - Interesting Engineering

One in three Japan firms using or considering AI robots: Reuters poll - Reuters

Kawasaki Heavy, Nvidia plan Silicon Valley robotics center, Nikkei reports - Reuters

Espretto Secures U.S. Partnerships Across Hawaii, Florida and New York as It Advances Silicon Valley Expansion - NatLawReview

A Colorado startup just raised $30 million on a quiet bet that astronauts won’t actually be the ones building the moon’s first permanent base — robots will get there first - Space Daily

AI, Automation, and Robotics Are Reshaping Value Creation for Private Equity - Foley Ignite

Humanoid’s New Deal: Bosch Will Build Its Robots With Schaeffler Parts - Forbes

Qi Lu, the Most Loving “Father” of Robots - 36KR

Open-Source Software Is Starting to Help Robots Think > On platforms like hugging Face, AI models for robotics gain traction - IEEE Spectrum

The Internet can’t stop watching Figure AI’s humanoid robots handling packages - ArsTechnica

Former NASA Robotics Chief: America is building the wrong kind of robots — and China knows it - Fortune

Job training for robots: How China is getting machines ready to join the workforce - CNBC

Commercial humanoid robots in China may soon do laundry, make beds, care for elderly - South China Morning Post

Are Humanoid Robots the End of Human Work? - Nautilus

“Humanoids will soon replace most human workers”: A debate - Science Robotics

How ‘Age Tech’ might help you grow old at home and with more eases - NBC News

Robotics exoskeletons promise easier hikes and high-tech workouts - NBC News

Are you interested in demoing or exhibiting at an event for aged care providers and investors?

CONTACT ME

* June 17 or 18 in the SF Bay Area.

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Robotics Invest - Boston - May 26-27

ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 01 - June 05

ROS Meetup @ ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 2

IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston - June 10 - June 11

Automate - Chicago - June 22 - June 25

Deep Tech Week - San Francisco - June 22 - June 26

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

REGISTER TODAY

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org

RLDX-1 from Real World (RLWRLD) is a dexterity-first foundation model for robot hands, announced on Wednesday May 13 at the SF Exploratorium. RLWRLD is targeting the manufacturing and logistics market but many of the benchmark tasks and capabilities displayed are essential for household and service robotics as well.

The launch event combined solid demos with interesting panel discussions led by RLWRLD President Carl Choi and featuring Amit Goel, Head of Robotics and Edge AI at Nvidia and the founders of RLWRLD, WiRobotics, Enactic, Origami Robotics and Proceptive. Here’s an event write up from Won Hoseob at Maeil Business.

Amit Goel was pleased to see RLDX-1 exceeding the performance of Groot on a range of benchmarks, from standards like Libero and Simpler that these days lack relevance for robotics models, to more challenging and realistic tasks from RoboCasa and the DexBench set of 18 tasks with 55 evaluation cases developed by RLWRLD.

“Benchmarks are the pathway from measurability to reliability,” said Amit Goel, “and their purpose is to translate research into industry viability.” (paraphrased)

Scale may be the ultimate answer towards developing human-level artificial intelligence across all domains, however current large scale models lack real world physics and interaction data. As RLWRLD say “you can’t scale what you can’t see”.

Scale will remain a powerful lever. But when we deployed the best available VLAs (Vision-Language-Action models) on the tasks our customers actually need (pouring, in-hand rotation, reactive grasping), they failed consistently, not because they lacked intelligence, but because the task lived in modalities the model was never given: high-DoF hand-object geometry, contact forces, temporal dynamics. Scale cannot recover a modality the model was never given in the first place.

The architecture of RLDX-1 incorporates a Multi-Stream Action Transformer resulting in a single model that can see, feel, remember, and adapt, deployable across single-arm, dual-arm, and humanoid embodiments with high-DoF hands. Not only is RLDX-1 translatable across hands and arms, but the Multi-Stream Action Transformer uses less energy and provides balanced performance without model collapse.

The prevailing assumption in the field is "intelligence first, dexterity follows." Our experience points the other way. Dexterity is not what comes after intelligence; it is the path intelligence takes when it has to act in the physical world. The deciding signal can live in torque, tactile, depth, or modalities with no human analogue, and scaling vision pre-training does not conjure what was never in the pixels. What scales for embodied intelligence is the number of modalities a model can absorb and let complement each other, not the size of any single one.

Vincent Duchaine from Robotiq articulated this very clearly in an April post “Vision-only manipulation is hitting a wall”

Vision sees outcomes. Contact sensing measures interaction as it happens, which is where the useful data lives. Physical AI improves with more data, but not all data matters the same. Force and tactile signals have an outsized impact on how well a system handles real contact.

So you see the same pattern over and over. Robots reach the right position. Then struggle with insertion, assembly, and anything that depends on compliance. The missing information is physical.

Everyone knows OpenArm, the open-source 7DOF humanoid arm designed for physical AI research and deployment in contact-rich environments. It’s now the most downloaded/built/purchased robot arm since Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics SO-101. OpenArm was created by Enactic, and after hearing CEO Hiroto Yamamoto speak at the RLWRLD event, I realized that OpenArm is just part of Enactic’s journey towards creating human assistance and care-giving robots. Humanoids that care.

I also spent some time this week with DOT Inc, a KAIST spinoff that is a leader in tactile display technology, particularly useful for anyone with visual impairments. However, the underlying miniature linear actuators developed by DOT Inc have applications well beyond dynamic braille displays. DOT Inc’s actuators are ideal for teleoperation with haptic feedback, or data collection and tactile sensing for robot hands, or the whole humanoid body.

KAIST is certainly kicking ass atm in converting robotics research into real world applications. RLWRLD has deep connections to KAIST as does DOT Inc. Humanoid robot company Rainbow Robotics, founded by Professor Jun-Ho Oh, is another high profile spinout which successfully went public and was then acquired by Samsung.

Some of the other notable KAIST startups include: ROEN Surgical, which develops minimally invasive flexible surgical robots designed for kidney stone removal, gastrointestinal procedures, and microsurgeries, founded by Dr. Dong-Soo Kwon; Angel Robotics, a company specializing in rehabilitation and medical robots founded by Professor Kyung-chul Kong; Pureun Robotics; Wero Robotics; Raion Robotics ; Triangle Robotics; URobotics; and Diden Robotics.

It’s not just KAIST, Professor Kyujin Cho of Seoul National University is planning on transforming the global robotics startup ecosystem. He is the incoming President of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, after many years of transformative leadership as VP of Technical Activities and Conference Activities. Kyujin Cho is now focused on expanding the RAS entrepreneurial programs developed during my terms as VP of Industry Activities.

Busy week! At RLWRLD’s event I finally had a chance to hang out with the amazing Andie Zhang, Global Portfolio and Technology Manager for Collaborative Robots at ABB. I’ve admired Andie’s leadership and deep experience in real world robotics for many years now. I’m looking forward to her insights in the new Davos Robot City Award.

Introducing the Robot City Award Jury 🏆
This July in Davos, 30+ robotic systems will operate live across the city, in public, in real conditions. Eight of the most credible minds in Physical AI will observe them in the field and decide who wins.

I also got to share a stage with Steve Wozniak at Silicon Valley Camp at the 1440 Multiversity. took part in an interesting panel with Alex Ivanenko, CEO of The Lithium Company; Michael Harries, Partner at the Robotics Hub Fund; Alex Dantas, CEO of Circuit Launch and Alexander Samogin, AI Infrastructure at Google. It’s not surprising that we talked a lot about manufacturing, energy and data centers.

I also gave a keynote on humanoid robots. For a change, the humanoid robots were totally upstaged by Steve Wozniak. I hadn’t realized that he was still an Apple employee, and actually never left the company at any stage. That’s loyalty.

Finally, Louis Lehot of Foley & Lardner has written a great recap of the talk I gave at Vitaly Golomb’s Hard Things Salon : “From Punchline to Platform: Hard Things Round Two and the Real History of Robotics”

Round Three is a Salon with President and COO of Serve Robotics Touraj Parang. Request your invite here.

From the Graveyard of Robot Startups:

Monarch Tractor CEO—‘We should have pivoted harder and faster’ an AgFunder Exclusive

When a funded robotics startup fails there are usually complicating financial, business model and operational reasons, not simply a product/market fit problem, a team problem or a technology problem.

Monarch Tractor’s collapse reflects the limits of an ambitious full-stack hardware model in a changing economic climate—not a failure of the underlying technology, insists cofounder Praveen Penmetsa.

The pandemic pushed many potentially successful robotics startups over the edge as customers closed down or scaled back operations. In 2022, the Federal Reserve interest rate jump from near 0% to 4.25%–4.50% to combat 40-year high inflation caused significant technology investor behavior changes. The more recent addition of erratic tariffs have caused component prices to rocket and the supply chain to become more unpredictable.

A complex technology startup, like robotics, needs to navigate the global weather without mistakes, as well as solving for the core operations, technology and business model solutions. In many ways, it’s a credit to Monarch Tractor that they survived from 2018 to 2026.

Read all the details at AgFunder.

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Call for Workshops

• What: 2026 IEEE RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots

• When: December 6-9, 2026

• Where: Santa Clara, California, USA

• Web: https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org

We are very pleased to invite you to contribute proposals for half-day or full-day workshops/tutorials to the 2026 IEEE RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots to be held December 6-9, 2026 in Santa Clara, California, USA.

WORKSHOPS & TUTORIALS: The workshop and tutorial sessions are aimed at exploring the frontiers of recent or emerging topics related to humanoid robotics, with relevant topics detailed below. We encourage workshops and tutorials that will promote exchanges and interactions between presenters and participants. Proposals with a diverse set of speakers, including a balance between (i) junior and senior presenters, (ii) genders, (iii) geographic location, (iv) race and ethnicity, and (v) industry and academia, will be preferred.

OVERVIEW: Humanoids 2026 aims at bringing together top researchers from humanoid robotics and related disciplines with leading companies in the field. In light of a year of rapidly evolving humanoid technologies with several new platforms coming onto the market and bringing us closer to a wider real-world deployment. Our community envisions innovative areas in humanoid robotics that lie at the intersection of general-purpose physical, cognitive, and motor capabilities, while also considering the scientific understanding of interactions with humanoid and anthropomorphic systems.

SCHEDULE: The conference will be organized as a 4-day event opening on December 6th (Sunday) with public panels, seminars, and hackathons, followed by workshops and tutorials on December 7th (Monday), followed by 2 days December 8th-9th (Tuesday-Wednesday) for the main conference with plenaries, keynotes, oral and interactive sessions, and industry events. A centrally located exhibition will feature the latest humanoid technology from both industry and academia.

EXHIBITION: Industry leaders are eager to see your organization’s latest developments, connect, learn, and collaborate. Don’t miss this opportunity to make a strong, in-person impression. For more information contact Hall-Erickson, Inc: humanoids@heiexpo.com

MORE INFORMATION: For more information, please visit the conference contributions webpage (https://2026.ieee-humanoids.org/call-for-workshops-and-tutorials) or contact the Workshop Chairs: Enrico Mingo Hoffman, Yan Gu, and Rafael Cisneros-Limón (humanoids2026-wt@ieee.org).

We look forward to your contributions to Humanoids 2026!

—

The Humanoids 2026 General Chairs:

• Andra Keay (Silicon Valley Robotics)

• Ross Mead (Semio)

IEEE Entrepreneurship Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston

June 10-11, 2026 - Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center (MCEC)
Boston, MA

Fueling Hard Tech growth through capital, mentorship, and resources. Designed specifically for Pre-Seed to Series A startups building complex physical technologies.

See what attendees experienced at April 2026 Summit

See what our attendees experienced at last year’s Summit

Why Attend?

• High-Impact Engagement: Historically maintains a 2:1 startup-to-investor ratio.

• Roundtable Discussions: Unique opportunities to connect directly with investors.

• Technical Problem Solving: Receive hands-on guidance from manufacturing experts to solve hurdles.

• Strategic Partnerships: Accelerate fundraising, production, and market entry.

APPLY NOW!

Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database

Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.

These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.

• Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.

• Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.

If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!

Robotics News

Rivian spinoff Mind Robotics raises another $400 million - TechCrunch

Inside China’s race to dominate the humanoid robotics industry - NBC News

Can a Chinese EV-maker reinvent itself as a robot firm? - The Economist

Unitree’s New Giant Mecha Robot Can Smash Through Walls and Seat a Human Pilot. Here’s What You Need to Know - Yahoo Finance

Hospital says RFK Jr. did not operate robotic arm during heart surgery - The Hill

Heavy Robotic Machinery Operates Itself plus Your weekly selection of awesome robot videos - IEEE Spectrum

Bay Area Robot Wars Are Becoming Dance Battles - SF Standard

Anduril lands $5B as defense giant builds autonomous warship operation in Seattle - Geekwire

Robots for America Launches National Coalition to Advance U.S. Robotics Deployment Policy - Business Wire

Robotics Events

Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?

Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.

Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!

More Robotics Events:

Robotics Invest - Boston - May 26-27

ICRA 2026 - Vienna, Austria - June 01 - June 05

IEEE Hard Tech Venture Summit - Boston - June 10 - June 11

Automate - Chicago - June 22 - June 25

Deep Tech Week - San Francisco - June 22 - June 26

Robot Fringe Festival - London - July 2

Robotics: Science and Systems - Sydney, Australia - July 13 - July 16

Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19

Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19

ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24

IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1

IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9

The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.

Mountain View Technology Showcase 2026

Call for Makers Application

July 30, 2026
11:00AM - 3PM
Mountain View Civic Center Plaza -- 500 Castro Street

The Technology Showcase is a unique opportunity for local Mountain View tech-oriented companies and makers to showcase their ideas and products to a wide audience. Whether you are an entrepreneur, startup, or established business, this wildly popular annual event attracts hundreds of potential customers, influencers, and investors. For no cost to you, you can have a booth at the event and showcase your technology.

The one day outdoor event takes place in Downtown Mountain View and is free to the public.

- Exhibitor Booth Includes: 10x10 space, 6ft table, white table cover, 2 chairs

Application deadline is June 22, 2026

Questions please reach out to marisol@chambermv.org

Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org