Robot Brain Startup Physical Intelligence Raises $400M At $2B Valuation

Physical Intelligence, a startup developing brains for a wide array of robots, raised a $400 million round at a $2 billion valuation led by Jeff Bezos, Lux Capital and Thrive Capital, per The New York Times.

Others involved in the round include OpenAI, Redpoint Ventures and Bond, per the report.

The San Francisco-based company had raised a $70 million seed round at a valuation of about $400 million back in March.

Physical Intelligence is just the latest startup looking to use AI to improve how robots operate and create foundational software that could be used on a variety of robot models instead of having to create separate operating software for each individual model.

“What we’re doing is not just a brain for any particular robot,” Karol Hausman, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, told the Times. “It’s a single generalist brain that can control any robot.”

Big bets

Investors already have placed big bets in the intersection of robotics and its AI-enhanced foundational software — especially Bezos.

In February, Sunnyvale, California-based Figure, which is developing AI-enhanced robots that it hopes will be able to perform dangerous jobs and alleviate labor shortages, raised a huge $675 million round at a pre-money valuation of roughly $2 billion. That round included investments from Nvidia, Bezos’ Explore Investments and others.

In July, Pittsburgh-based Skild AI — also developing brain models that can be used in a variety of robots and for different tasks — raised a $300 million Series A led by Coatue, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank Group and Bezos, through his Bezos Expeditions. The funding valued the company at $1.5 billion.

Overall, this has been a good year for robotics startups receiving funding.