Five robotics startups raise $510M as investors chase physical AI
What's the deal? Five robotics startups — ICON, Mecka AI, MMI, Multiply Labs, and Ultra — raised a combined $510 million in the week of October 12, spanning construction, surgery, data training, drug manufacturing, and warehouse automation.
The biggest round: ICON, which builds 3D-printing construction robots, raised a $200 million Series D co-led by Baillie Gifford and funds managed by BlackRock. It plans to build a new R&D center, develop new construction systems, and expand its US footprint.
ICON has worked with the Department of War since 2020 on military housing and public infrastructure. It has won more than $370 million in government contracts and built more than 270 homes.
Who else raised? MMI, which makes robotic tools for micro- and supermicro surgery, secured a $125 million Series D led by BioStar CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. It has deployed nearly 50 of its Symani systems worldwide, used in more than 3,500 surgeries, and will fund US expansion.
Multiply Labs raised a $75 million Series B led by NantWorks for robots that manufacture cell and gene therapies. It sells systems directly to customers, letting them own their supply chain in a heavily regulated industry.
Mecka AI, which builds hardware and sensors to collect egocentric data for training robots, raised a $60 million Series B led by Sequoia. That came four months after $60 million across two undisclosed rounds in June. The company says it is on track for $300 million in run-rate revenue by year-end, after crossing $100 million in June.
Ultra closed a $50 million Series A for two-armed warehouse robots that pack and sort orders. Unlike its peers, Ultra leases hardware monthly, with software supplied through a partnership with Physical Intelligence.
Why now? Training data is in high demand among investors, and specialised robots — for surgery, drug manufacturing, and construction — are moving from labs into regulated real-world use.
The signal: The week's deals skipped general-purpose humanoids entirely, a reminder that capital is flowing across the full robotics stack — from data pipelines to task-specific machines — not just the flashiest category.
Read more: automate.org
Image credit: Marion Doss
