Welcome back to Robotics Roundup, a monthly look at the robotics industry’s most important VC deals. Defense robotics companies continued their funding bonanza this month, but the biggest round went to AI infrastructure company FieldAI.
The Deals
FieldAI announced that it had raised $405M over two rounds from Bezos Expeditions, BHP Ventures, Canaan Partners, Emerson Collective, Intel Capital, Khosla Ventures, NVentures, Prysm, Temasek, and others. The Irvine, California-based company develops “embodied” AI systems that control robots’ interactions with the physical world.
Nuro raised $97M in Series E funding from Uber, Icehouse Ventures, Kindred Ventures, NVIDIA, and Pledge Ventures, following a first $106M tranche announced in April. The Silicon Valley company builds autonomous vehicles for goods delivery.
Stark raised $62M in funding led by Sequoia, with participation from 8VC, Thiel Capital, the NATO Innovation Fund, In-Q-Tel, Project A and Döpfner Capital. The German defense company develops AI-powered armed drones for battlefield use.
Blue Water Autonomy raised $50M in Series A funding led by GV with participation from Eclipse, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. The Boston company builds unmanned ships for naval defense and logistics.
Hyphen raised $25M in Series B funding, with participation from CAVA Group. The San Jose, California company makes automated kitchen lines for restaurant meal preparation.
Eyebot raised a $20M Series A round led by General Catalyst, with participation from AlleyCorp, Baukunst, Village Global, and Ubiquity Ventures. The Boston company builds self-service eye exam kiosks.
Method AI raised $20M in Series A funding led by a private family office with participation from Cleveland Clinic and JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund. The Boston company leverages continuous, 3D ultrasound, and AI-generated surgical plans to guide robotic-assisted medical procedures.
OpenMind raised $20M in a funding round led by Pantera Capital. The Silicon Valley-based company researches and develops “intelligence infrastructure” to help integrate intelligent machines into everyday life.
Reframe Systems raised a $20M Series A round co-led by Eclipse and VoLo Earth Ventures, with participation from MassMutual Catalyst Funds, Cubit Capital, Planetary Health at RA Capital Management, Saga Ventures, and Nor’easter Ventures. The Boston company is building robotic microfactories to cut home construction costs.
Softwear Automation raised $20M in Series B1 funding led by Bestseller, with participation from CTW Venture Partners, SRI Capital, and MacDonald Ventures. The Atlanta-based company makes automated sewing systems for apparel production.
FORT Robotics raised an additional $18.9M for its Series B first announced in July, bringing the round total to $43.9M. Tiger Global led the round. The Philadelphia company provides wireless control and safety software for machines and robots.
Saga Robotics raised $11.2M in funding from Praesidium Agri-FoodTech, plus a consortium of existing investors. The Oslo company’s “Thorvald” robots autonomously treat crops with high-intensity UV-C light to combat diseases like powdery mildew.
Helm.ai raised $10M in funding from KPIT Technologies via a SAFE Instrument in preferred stock. The Silicon Valley company develops self-driving car software.
Mecka AI raised $8M in Seed funding led by Neo, with participation from SV Angel, A-Star Capital, Cade, Timeless, and Offline VC. The Toronto-based company generates data infrastructure for robotics development.
Grid Aero raised $6M in Seed funding from Calibrate Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures. The Bay Area company builds autonomous aerial cargo drones for defense and commercial customers.
Xpand raised $6M in a funding round led by Ibex Investors and Emerge. The Tel Aviv company develops unmanned retail stores capable of running 24/7, without staff.
The Big Exit
Daedalean was acquired by Destinus for CHF 180M. The Zurich-based company develops AI-based flight control systems for aircraft.
GUSS Automation was acquired by John Deere for an unspecified amount. The California company builds semi-autonomous crop sprayers for orchards, vineyards, and bedded crops like vegetables and melons.
Do you have questions, feedback, or a funding round to announce? Get in touch at stateofrobotics@fprimecapital.com