Physical AI Companies to Watch in 2026
Physical AI funding hit record levels in 2026. Robotics startups raised $18.8 billion globally in the first half of the year alone, surpassing the full-year record of $15 billion in 2025. Q1 2026 delivered a historic $29 billion across 118 transactions (including later-stage deals), more than triple Q4 2025 deal value.
The companies below represent the most significant players across humanoid robots, robot foundation models, manipulation systems, and supporting infrastructure. This tracker covers both Western and Chinese companies, because the physical AI race is global, and ignoring either side gives an incomplete picture.
Funding tracker: 20 companies building physical AI
1. Figure AI
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2022 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California |
| Total Funding | ~$2.34 billion |
| Latest Valuation | $39 billion |
| Product | Figure 03 humanoid robot |
| Generation status | Figure 03 active fleet; Figure 02 retired; Figure 04 future reference only |
| Status | Company-reported production ramp; named BMW deployment; not publicly orderable |
Figure AI became the most valuable pure-play humanoid robotics company in under three years. Its Series C closed in September 2025, bringing in over $1 billion. Figure reports more than 350 Figure 03 units and a one-robot-per-hour line rate, while BMW confirms a named factory deployment. This supports scaled manufacturing and customer deployment, not broad commercial shipping.
NVIDIA lists Figure among robotics companies building with its available OpenShell runtime for agent permission controls. Figure has not publicly documented the implementation scope, production status or effectiveness, so treat this as vendor-reported ecosystem participation rather than a deployed safety certification.
Figure’s September 30, 2026 decommissioning announcement, checked October 1, retires Figure 02 as the Figure 03 fleet grows. Preserve Figure 02’s BMW, Helix, household-demo and logistics history; the announcement does not establish Figure 04 availability.
2. Skild AI
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Total Funding | ~$1.8 billion |
| Latest Valuation | $14 billion+ |
| Product | Scalable foundation model for robotics |
| Status | Pre-revenue, partnerships with Samsung, LG, Schneider |
Skild AI raised $1.4 billion in its Series C in January 2026, the largest robotics funding round ever at the time. The company builds a general-purpose AI model that learns from multimodal data and adapts across various robot types. Strategic investors include Samsung, LG, Schneider Electric, CommonSpirit Health, and Salesforce Ventures. Founded by CMU professors Deepak Pathak and Abhinav Gupta.
NVIDIA also lists Skild AI as building with OpenShell. No public Skild implementation detail or independent evaluation was found, so this indicates active ecosystem work rather than production-proven robot safety. See the robot runtime safety guide for the distinction between agent permissions and functional safety.
3. Physical Intelligence
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2024 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Total Funding | ~$1.1 billion |
| Latest Valuation | $5.6 billion |
| Product | Pi-zero foundation model for robot control |
| Status | Pre-revenue, research partnerships |
Physical Intelligence builds foundation models that can control any robot for any task. Its pi-zero model demonstrated laundry folding, table clearing, and box assembly across different robot platforms. The company raised $400 million (Series A, led by Jeff Bezos and Thrive) in November 2024, followed by $600 million (Series B, led by CapitalG) in November 2025. Co-founded by Sergey Levine, Karol Hausman, and others from Google Brain, Berkeley, and Stanford.
4. Apptronik
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas |
| Total Funding | ~$963 million |
| Latest Valuation | $5 billion |
| Product | Apollo humanoid robot |
| Status | Pilot build and customer testing; no mass production or public ordering confirmed |
Apptronik builds the Apollo humanoid robot for logistics and manufacturing. The company raised $350 million in February 2025, upsized the round in March 2025, then raised an additional $520 million extension in February 2026. Jabil describes its manufacturing work with Apptronik as a pilot collaboration, and Mercedes-Benz describes Apollo activity as testing; neither is evidence of mass production.
5. Agility Robotics
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Corvallis, Oregon |
| Total Funding | ~$641 million |
| Latest Valuation | $2.5 billion (SPAC merger) |
| Product | Digit bipedal robot |
| Status | RoboFab operational; commercial RaaS at GXO; current unit output undisclosed |
Agility Robotics builds Digit, a bipedal humanoid designed specifically for warehouse logistics. Digit has been piloted by Amazon since 2023 and operates under a multi-year Robots-as-a-Service agreement with GXO, crossing the 100,000-tote milestone in November 2025. The company announced a SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI in mid-2026 at a $2.5 billion pre-money valuation, with over $620 million in gross proceeds. Key investors include Amazon, NVIDIA, and Sony.
6. 1X Technologies
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Moss, Norway |
| Total Funding | ~$225 million+ |
| Latest Valuation | $10 billion+ (targeted, 2025) |
| Product | NEO humanoid robot, EVE security robot |
| Status | NEO factory operational and pre-orders open; commercial delivery not yet confirmed |
1X Technologies builds humanoid robots with a focus on human-safe interaction. NEO is a full-sized humanoid for household tasks, while EVE is a separate wheeled platform with deployment history. NEO pre-orders are open and 1X says its California factory is operational, but first US deliveries remain a 2026 company commitment rather than confirmed commercial shipping.
7. Galbot
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, China |
| Total Funding | ~$1.15 billion |
| Latest Valuation | $3 billion+ |
| Product | Embodied AI humanoid robot |
| Status | Company-reported deployments; manufacturing stage and broad customer shipping unknown |
Galbot is one of China’s most heavily funded humanoid robotics startups. It closed an additional RMB 2.5 billion round in March 2026. The company reports deployments across retail, industrial and service settings, but public evidence does not establish a manufacturing stage or broad customer shipping.
8. Unitree Robotics
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Hangzhou, China |
| Total Funding | ~$246 million (pre-IPO) |
| Latest Valuation | $7.4 billion (projected post-IPO) |
| Product | G1/H1 humanoid robots, Go2 quadruped |
| Status | G1 directly orderable; mass-production label is vendor-reported; current output undisclosed |
Unitree is the most recognizable Chinese robotics company globally, known for producing affordable quadruped robots (Go2 at ~$1,600) and the G1 humanoid ($13,500 for the base model, excluding tax and shipping; EDU contact sales). The company completed Series C funding in June 2025 at a $1.7 billion valuation and initiated its STAR Market IPO process in July 2026, with Citic Securities estimating a post-IPO valuation over $7.4 billion. Unitree’s founder met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, signaling state-level support for the company.
9. AgiBot
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
| Total Funding | ~$800 million+ |
| Latest Valuation | $1 billion+ |
| Product | A2/A3 humanoid robots, quadruped platforms |
| Status | IDC-estimated 8,600+ H1 2026 humanoid shipments relayed by AGIBOT; company-reported production and deployed fleets; model mix varies |
AgiBot ranks among the largest humanoid manufacturers in Omdia’s shipment estimate. Omdia estimated approximately 5,100 units in 2025, but that secondary estimate combines products and does not establish how many units perform sustained autonomous work at customer sites. Backed by Tencent, BYD, Baidu, LG Electronics and HongShan Capital, AgiBot addresses manufacturing, logistics and service applications.
The newer September 30 AGIBOT disclosure, checked October 1, 2026, attributes more than 8,600 H1 2026 humanoid shipments and approximately 35% global shipment share to IDC. AGIBOT separately reports 20,000 cumulative robots produced by September, 300+ robots at Chimelong and 100 X2 across ASD stores. Production spans the portfolio and is not a humanoid-only sales count; deployed-fleet figures are company disclosures, not independently measured autonomy or utilization. See the dated metric breakdown.
10. Fourier Intelligence
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
| Total Funding | ~$200 million+ |
| Latest Valuation | ~$1.2 billion |
| Product | GR-2/GR-3 humanoid robots, rehabilitation robotics |
| Status | Revenue-generating rehabilitation business; humanoid production and shipping status undisclosed |
Fourier started in rehabilitation robotics (exoskeletons and therapy robots deployed in hundreds of hospitals) and expanded into general-purpose humanoids. The GR-1 (40 DOF) was superseded by the GR-2 and GR-3 care robot (August 2025). Raised a Series E+ round of CNY 300 million (~$42 million) from Zhejiang Runyang in August 2025, valuing the company at approximately CNY 8.5 billion ($1.2 billion). Backed by IDG Capital and Saudi Aramco.
11. UBTECH Robotics
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, China |
| Total Funding | ~$900 million+ (pre-IPO) |
| Latest Valuation | Public (HKEX: 9880.HK) |
| Product | Walker S/UWORLD U1 humanoid, education robots |
| Status | Walker S2 small-scale mass production and delivery (company-reported) |
UBTECH is the first humanoid robot company to IPO, listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2023. Its 2025 annual report says Walker S2 reached “1,000-unit-level small-scale mass production and delivery.” This is a company disclosure for Walker S2 and should not be generalized to every UBTECH humanoid or every region.
12. Sanctuary AI
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, Canada |
| Total Funding | ~$141 million |
| Latest Valuation | Not publicly disclosed |
| Product | Phoenix humanoid robot |
| Status | Pilot build; enterprise deployment history; no volume manufacturing confirmed |
Sanctuary AI builds the Phoenix humanoid with dexterous hands and its Carbon control system. The company reported completing an early commercial deployment and later announced development and pilot work with Magna. Public evidence does not establish repeatable volume production or a public sales channel.
13. Covariant (acquired by Amazon, 2024)
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Berkeley, California (now Amazon) |
| Total Funding | ~$222 million (pre-acquisition) |
| Latest Valuation | $625 million (April 2023) |
| Product | RFM-1 robotics foundation model |
| Status | Acqui-hired by Amazon (August 2024) |
Covariant built AI models for warehouse robots capable of handling diverse physical objects. Amazon hired three of its four co-founders and approximately 25% of staff in August 2024, non-exclusively licensing its models. The deal is widely described as a “reverse acqui-hire.” The company’s robotics foundation model (RFM-1) is now being integrated into Amazon’s fulfillment robotics operations.
14. Flexiv Robotics
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California / Shanghai, China |
| Total Funding | ~$400 million+ |
| Latest Valuation | ~$1 billion+ |
| Product | Rizon series adaptive robot arms |
| Status | Revenue-generating, deployed in manufacturing |
Flexiv builds force-controlled adaptive robot arms with AI-powered contact-rich manipulation. The Rizon 4 and Rizon 10 arms use proprietary force sensing and adaptive algorithms for assembly, polishing, and inspection tasks that require force feedback. Deployed in electronics manufacturing, automotive, and logistics. Dual headquarters spanning the US and China.
15. Noema Robotics (formerly Enchanted Tools)
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Total Funding | ~$100 million |
| Latest Valuation | Not publicly disclosed |
| Product | Mirokai social robotics platform |
| Status | Pilot deployments in healthcare |
One of Europe’s most funded robotics startups. Noema builds the Mirokai platform for healthcare and hospitality environments, combining mobility, manipulation, and social interaction. The robot uses expressive design to make human-robot interaction more natural. Primarily deployed in French hospitals and care facilities.
16. Tesla (Optimus division)
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 (Optimus program) |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California |
| Total Funding | Internal (Tesla market cap ~$800B+) |
| Latest Valuation | N/A (public company) |
| Product | Optimus humanoid robot |
| Status | Production line commissioned / pre-mass-production; no external deliveries confirmed |
Tesla’s Optimus program is not publicly orderable. Tesla’s Q2 2026 update showed the first-generation Fremont production line, while its Q1 update described lines being installed in anticipation of volume production. This supports a commissioned line and pre-mass-production status; internal-use, volume and external-sales statements remain targets until achieved results are disclosed.
17. Boston Dynamics (Hyundai subsidiary)
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Waltham, Massachusetts |
| Total Funding | Subsidiary (Hyundai paid ~$1.1 billion for 80% stake) |
| Latest Valuation | N/A (subsidiary) |
| Product | Atlas (electric), Spot, Stretch |
| Status | Revenue-generating (Spot, Stretch), Atlas in development |
Boston Dynamics retired its hydraulic Atlas in April 2024 and announced the new electric Atlas designed for commercial deployment. Spot (quadruped inspection robot) and Stretch (warehouse robot) generate revenue through sales and leasing. The electric Atlas targets automotive and logistics customers with Hyundai integration. The company has decades of locomotion research but is now racing to add AI-powered autonomy.
18. Robotera
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
| Total Funding | ~$200 million+ |
| Latest Valuation | Not publicly disclosed |
| Product | Star1 humanoid robot |
| Status | Public demonstrations; manufacturing and deployment maturity unknown |
Robotera is a newer Chinese entrant focused on general-purpose humanoid robots for industrial applications. The Star1 humanoid targets manufacturing and logistics use cases. The company has attracted significant funding as part of China’s national push to dominate the humanoid robotics sector.
19. Zhiyuan Robotics (AGILEX)
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, China |
| Total Funding | ~$100 million+ |
| Latest Valuation | Not publicly disclosed |
| Product | Mobile manipulation platforms, robot components |
| Status | Revenue-generating, supplying research labs globally |
Zhiyuan (under the AGILEX brand internationally) builds mobile robot platforms, manipulators, and components used by research labs worldwide. Their Ranger, Scout, and Cobot platforms are popular in academic settings for mobile manipulation research. Also building embodied AI capabilities on top of their hardware platform.
20. Skild AI (research division) / UC Berkeley RAIL Lab
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Founded | Ongoing |
| Headquarters | Berkeley, California |
| Total Funding | Academic (DARPA, NSF, industry grants) |
| Product | Octo, Open X-Embodiment, LeRobot contributions |
| Status | Foundational research, open-source models |
While not a company, the UC Berkeley Robot AI Lab (RAIL, led by Sergey Levine and others) deserves inclusion for its outsized impact. The lab produced Octo (the first open-source generalist robot policy), contributed to Open X-Embodiment (the largest robot dataset), and trained many of the founders now leading physical AI companies (Physical Intelligence, Covariant). RAIL’s open-source outputs form the foundation that commercial companies build on.
Key trends in the funding landscape
The funding gap between leaders and followers is enormous
Figure AI ($2.34B), Skild AI ($1.8B), Galbot ($1.15B), and Physical Intelligence ($1.1B) have each raised over $1 billion. Meanwhile, many capable companies operate on less than $200 million. The top 5 companies by funding account for over 60% of total startup capital in the sector.
Chinese companies report stronger hardware access and shipment signals
Omdia estimates AgiBot shipped about 5,100 units in 2025. Unitree lists the G1 base model at $13,500, excluding tax and shipping, while G1 EDU requires a sales quote. UBTECH reports small-scale mass production and delivery for Walker S2. These are different evidence types and should not be collapsed into one “at scale” label; Figure also reports scaled production, while several Western peers remain at pilot or pre-mass-production stages.
Foundation model companies are the new platform plays
Skild AI, Physical Intelligence, and (within NVIDIA) the GR00T team are building models designed to work across many different robots. They are betting that the “model layer” will be more valuable than the “hardware layer,” analogous to how Android is more valuable than any single phone manufacturer.
The acqui-hire pattern is accelerating
Amazon acquired Covariant’s team. Big tech companies are buying AI talent rather than building robotics divisions from scratch. Expect more acqui-hires as Google, Apple, and Meta explore physical AI.
IPOs signal market maturity
UBTECH went public in 2023. Agility Robotics announced a SPAC merger in 2026. Unitree filed for a Shanghai IPO. The market is transitioning from pure venture speculation to public-market scrutiny, which will force companies to demonstrate real revenue and unit economics.
FAQ
Which company is closest to selling humanoid robots at scale?
No single answer fits every maturity dimension. Omdia estimates AgiBot shipped over 5,100 units in 2025; Unitree provides the clearest direct ordering; UBTECH reports small-scale Walker S2 production and delivery; Figure reports a scaled production ramp; and Agility has the clearest named commercial RaaS deployment at GXO. None of those facts alone proves broad autonomous deployment or unrestricted availability.
How much does it cost to buy a humanoid robot in 2026?
Entry-level: Unitree G1 base starts at $13,500, excluding tax and shipping; programmable G1 EDU configurations require a sales quote. Mid-range: Unitree H1 and Fourier GR-2 are quote-only. High-end: Agility Digit and Apptronik Apollo use enterprise agreements. Figure 03, Tesla Optimus and Boston Dynamics Atlas are not publicly available for purchase.
What is the difference between a humanoid robot company and a foundation model company?
Humanoid robot companies (Figure AI, Apptronik, Unitree, AgiBot) build complete physical robots with custom hardware, actuators, and mechanical design. Foundation model companies (Skild AI, Physical Intelligence) build the AI “brain” software that can control any robot. Some companies do both (Figure has its own VLA model; AgiBot develops its own AI). The market is still determining whether vertical integration or specialization wins.
Are Chinese robotics companies a threat to Western companies?
They are serious competitors, especially on price, supply-chain depth and hardware access. Shipment estimates favor AgiBot and Unitree, but methods differ and are not independently audited. Figure reports meaningful production scale, while Agility has a named commercial deployment. Comparisons should therefore be made by model, availability and deployment evidence rather than by nationality alone.
Which companies will likely IPO next?
Unitree has already filed for a Shanghai STAR Market IPO (July 2026). AgiBot is reportedly planning a Hong Kong IPO in 2026. In the West, Figure AI ($39B valuation) and Physical Intelligence ($5.6B valuation) are likely candidates for 2027 to 2028 IPOs, though their pre-revenue status makes timing uncertain. Apptronik ($5B valuation) could also go public once Apollo deployments generate consistent revenue.
How do investors evaluate physical AI companies given most are pre-revenue?
Investors primarily evaluate: (1) founding team credentials (many founders come from Google Brain, Berkeley, CMU, or Stanford), (2) technology differentiation (proprietary models, unique hardware), (3) partnership pipeline (Amazon, BMW, Mercedes partnerships signal commercial viability), (4) talent density (ability to recruit top robotics researchers), and (5) speed of iteration (how quickly can they go from demo to deployment). Revenue is secondary at this stage; the bet is on market size ($100B+ total addressable market for humanoid labor).
Sources
- Figure reaches $39B valuation in latest funding round — TechCrunch (Sep 2025) — Figure AI Series C, $1B+, $39B valuation
- Skild AI Raises $1.4B, Now Valued Over $14B — Business Wire (Jan 2026) — Skild AI Series C with SoftBank, Samsung, LG
- Physical Intelligence raises $600M — The Robot Report (Nov 2025) — PI Series B led by CapitalG, $5.6B valuation
- Humanoid robot startup Apptronik has now raised $935M — TechCrunch (Feb 2026) — Apptronik $520M extension, $5B+ valuation
- Agility Robotics to Go Public Through Merger with Churchill Capital — Agility (Jun 2026) — $2.5B SPAC merger, $620M proceeds
- 1X Secures $100M in Series B Funding — 1X Technologies (Jan 2024) — 1X Series B led by EQT Ventures
- Robotics firms secure fresh funding — Global Times (Mar 2026) — Galbot RMB 2.5B round, national AI fund
- Chinese robot maker Unitree seen worth over $7.4 billion after IPO — Reuters (Aug 2026) — Unitree IPO valuation
- Omdia Ranks AGIBOT No.1 Worldwide in Humanoid Robot Shipments — PR Newswire (Jan 2026) — AgiBot 5,168 units, 39% market share
- UBTECH Launches UWORLD U1 — PR Newswire (Jul 2026) — UWORLD U1 launch
- These 10 Chinese Robotics Startups Are Winning The Most VC Funding — Forbes (Apr 2026) — Chinese VC funding landscape
- Sector Snapshot: Robotics Startups On Fire — Crunchbase (Jun 2026) — $18.8B global robotics funding H1 2026