Wonik Robotics raises 350B KRW to build humanoid mass-production facilities
What's the deal? Wonik RoboticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised 350 billion KRW (about $253 million) in a growth equity round to build mass-production facilities for humanoid robots and robot hands. The National Growth Fund led with a direct 150 billion KRW investment via convertible preferred stock, while private investors supplied the remaining 200 billion KRW.
What does the company do? Wonik Robotics specialises in robot hands and industrial humanoids. Its self-developed "Allegro Hand" has been supplied to global firms and research institutions including Nvidia and Meta, and since 2024 it has been co-developing a dedicated AI robot hand with Meta.
What's the money for? The funds will go to a robot-hand production plant and an AI transformation (AX) centre in Wanju, North Jeolla, plus in-house development of core components and research. Actuators and robot hands make up roughly 70% of humanoid hardware costs, a bottleneck the government hopes the investment will ease.
Why now? The Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy approved funding for seven companies on August 27, backing a combined 1.61 trillion KRW in investment projects. Wonik is the second confirmed investment under the ministry's "M.AX Frontier Project."
By the numbers: This round sits in the 92nd percentile of all-time growth equity VC deals, a sizeable raise against a sample of 6,608 comparable rounds. South Korea has world-leading robot density but accounts for just 1% of global humanoid production.
The signal: The deal reflects a state-backed push into physical AI. The National Growth Fund has approved or formed 17.9 trillion KRW across 31 deals from January to August, and robotics funding is accelerating — autonomous-driving firm Moove raised $250 million in August at a $2.1 billion valuation.
Read more: wowtale.net
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
