Neura Robotics has closed a Series C round of up to $1.4 billion led by Tether, the stablecoin issuer behind USDT, with Tether also planning to integrate its Wallet Development Kit directly into Neura’s robotic systems as the companies argue autonomous robots need financial tools.
Addverb Technologies, backed by Reliance Industries and currently ranked outside the global top 30 in robotics by revenue, is raising more than $100 million to develop humanoid and quadruped robots, build AI training systems, and expand internationally as it targets a top-10 global ranking within five years.
Nebius has launched the Physical AI Living Lab, a six-month accelerator providing UK and European robotics startups with access to NVIDIA’s physical AI software stack and Nebius cloud compute, with the first cohort expected to begin in September 2026.
Google DeepMind has launched a three-month robotics accelerator program for early-stage European startups, selecting 15 companies spanning industrial automation, healthcare robotics, waste sorting, ocean autonomy, and neurosurgery for mentorship and access to Gemini robotics models.
Standard Bots has raised $200 million in a Series C co-led by General Catalyst and RoboStrategy at a $1 billion valuation, funding expansion of its Glen Cove, New York factory and a target of delivering 10% of all new U.S. industrial robot deployments within the year.
Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng has assumed direct leadership of the company’s robotics business, effective immediately, as the EV maker targets mass production of its IRON humanoid robot by the end of 2026 and commercial customer delivery from 2027.
BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li has confirmed the company is developing humanoid robots in-house, with its own EV and battery factories as the first deployment target before a planned consumer rollout through BYD’s existing auto dealer network.
South Korean builder GS E&C has signed an MOU with Daedong Robotics to deploy autonomous mobile robots at construction sites, beginning with pilot projects for material transportation and labor-intensive tasks before jointly developing construction-specific robot models.
A modified Unitree G1 humanoid robot named Pemba reached the summit of Ecuador’s Chimborazo volcano at over 6,000 meters altitude, walking independently on sections below 30 degrees incline during a 16-hour climb, as the team sets its sights on Mount Everest.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang declared humanoid robots “very very close” to industrial deployment as he and Hyundai Executive Chair Chung Euisun detailed plans to expand their physical AI and robotics partnership, with Huang also committing to join Hyundai’s $5.9 billion South Korean AI Valley initiative.
Xiaomi’s humanoid robot demonstrated autonomous grasping of the 17T Pro smartphone and independent volume key operation at the company’s product launch event, following a major CyberOne bionic hand redesign that reduced volume by 60%, increased degrees of freedom by 64%, and expanded tactile sensor coverage to 8,200 square millimeters.
UBTECH Robotics’ YouWorld brand has surpassed 2,110 pre-orders within six days of launching its full-size ultra-bionic humanoid robot on JD.com, with the consumer-facing product targeting emotional companionship and scheduled for official release on June 30.
BMW has launched its Leipzig humanoid robot pilot with Hexagon’s Aeon platform targeting battery assembly and component manufacturing, while publishing detailed results from the Spartanburg deployment with Figure AI in which a Figure 02 robot supported production of 30,000 BMW X3 vehicles over ten months.
Amazon has unveiled a next-generation Proteus autonomous robot controllable by conversational text prompts, committing more than €10 billion to expand European fulfillment center robotics and adding 25,000 jobs, with Proteus deployment in Europe planned for the first half of 2027.
VinDynamics, the robotics arm of Vietnam’s Vingroup, has signed an MOU with Skild AI to integrate the Skild Brain foundation model into its humanoid robots, targeting real-world deployment across manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, and commercial services.