FieldAI reportedly raised $700 million at a $10 billion valuation, more than quadrupling its $2 billion valuation in just over a year, as investors pour money into physical AI.
According to a Friday Business Insider report, it is not clear which venture capital firm led the round for the California-based robotics startup, which is building general robot intelligence for the physical world.
Revenue Momentum Backs the Valuation
The report, citing a person familiar with the deal, said FieldAI has added at least $35 million in revenue and customer contracts since June, bringing the total to more than $135 million.
FieldAI did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
“We have seen very, very fast growth in the last several months,” CEO Ali Agha told Business Insider in June.
Big-Name Backers Set the Stage
Founded in 2023, FieldAI is developing what it describes as a “universal general-purpose brain” designed to power humanoid robots, robot dogs, drones and industrial rovers.
Last year, the company secured $405 million across two funding rounds at a $2 billion valuation
Backers for FieldAI included NVentures, the venture arm of Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Intel Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:INTC) Intel Capital. Others were Bezos Expeditions, Gates Frontier, Samsung (OTC:SSNLF), Khosla Ventures, Temasek, Prysm Capital and Canaan Partners.
A Race Among Well-Funded Rivals
The new valuation brings FieldAI closer to its main competitors. Physical Intelligence is valued at roughly $11 billion and Skild AI is valued at more than $14 billion.
Large technology companies are also moving in. Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) bought humanoid robotics startup Assured Robot Intelligence for an undisclosed sum in May.
A Tough Real-World Test
The valuation is a bet that FieldAI can make its robot brain work in unpredictable real-world settings, according to the Business Insider report. That is much more difficult than training a machine for a single task in a controlled environment, and it is a challenge that has long tripped up robotics companies.
A Citrini Research report published in September points to a similar gap. After meeting with robotics labs, engineers and investors in the San Francisco Bay Area, the researchers found that most humanoid robots remain in development, training, or tele-operated demonstrations. They said real-world deployments are generally closer to pilots than clear return-on-investment cases.
The report said basic humanoid locomotion is effectively a solved problem, while complex dexterity remains harder. It described “broad generalizability” as the longer-term goal.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly projected a $50 trillion total addressable market for humanoid robots and physical AI.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock
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