Newsletter #59

This Week's Good Reads

Microsoft Research - GroundedPlanBench: Spatially grounded long-horizon task planning for robot manipulation - Microsoft introduces GroundedPlanBench and V2GP to test whether vision-language models can jointly decide what a robot should do and where each action should happen, showing why long-horizon manipulation still breaks when planning and spatial grounding are separated. Microsoft Research
VentureBeat - The app store for robots has arrived: Hugging Face launches open-source Reachy Mini App Store with 200+ apps - Hugging Face is turning Reachy Mini into a software platform, using an open app store and agentic app-building tools to lower the barrier between AI model builders and deployable robot behaviors. VentureBeat
Berkeley Engineering - The art of grasping - Berkeley profiles Ken Goldberg's long arc from internet-controlled robots to Ambi Robotics, arguing that real robotics progress still depends on engineering discipline, task-specific systems, and hard-won physical data rather than AI scale alone. Berkeley Engineering

Robotics and AI Companies Funding

Pre-seed / Seed

ALCHERA - $3.1M, Funding round backed by Tiger Asset Management Investment Advisory. ALCHERA builds visual-recognition and physical-AI data pipelines for autonomous driving, humanoid robots, intelligent equipment, and manufacturing models.
Better Futures - EUR 1.1M, Funding round from Enterprise Ireland. Better Futures builds AI-supported lifecycle, compliance, and documentation software for regulated engineering and manufacturing workflows.
The Path - $14.3M, Seed round backed by Prime Movers Lab, Apolo Ohno, Deontay Wilder, and Designer Fund. The Path is building an AI-enabled mental health care system that combines intake, matching, guidance, and care delivery.
Arito AI - $6M, Seed round backed by Amplify Partners and Thomas Seifert. Arito AI builds agentic systems for finance and revenue teams that need business-context-aware analysis instead of another dashboard layer.
Out of Set - Undisclosed, Seed investment from TheVentures. Out of Set develops deployment technology for compact on-device AI models where privacy, latency, and edge execution matter.
Imperagen - EUR 5.8M, Seed round backed by PXN Ventures North of England, IQ Capital, and Northern Gritstone. Imperagen uses AI, quantum methods, and wet-lab automation to speed enzyme engineering.
Clone - Undisclosed, Seed investment from NAVER D2SF. Clone builds AI-agent interface technology that models a user's workflow and helps decide what the next prompt or handoff should be.
Neurosoft Bioelectronics - $7.5M, Seed round backed by Skybound Venture Capital, PL Capital, IAG Capital Partners, and Connecticut Innovations. Neurosoft Bioelectronics develops stretchable brain-computer interface systems designed to collect high-quality cortical data with less invasive hardware.
Clouted - $7M, Seed round backed by Slow Ventures, Gold House Ventures, Weekend Fund, Z Venture Capital, Gondor Capital, Iterative Ventures, AppWorks, Peak XV's Surge, a16z speedrun, Antler, and Hustle Fund. Clouted builds distribution intelligence tools for consumer brands and creator-led marketing.
StitcherAI - $3M, Seed round backed by Founders Co-op, Sunshine Lake, Ascend, and Plug and Play Tech Center. StitcherAI helps enterprises measure and manage AI investment ROI across software, cloud, and internal deployment decisions.
Rightbrain AI - GBP 3M, Seed round backed by NPIF II, PXN Ventures, Salica Investments, and NYDIG. Rightbrain AI helps enterprises deploy AI agents across existing workflows without rebuilding the underlying systems.
Infrawatch - $3M, Pre-seed round backed by Outward VC, Triple Point, and Portfolio Ventures. Infrawatch builds internet infrastructure intelligence for security, fraud, and investigation teams.
Overwatch AI - $1.5M, Pre-seed round backed by United Airlines Ventures, Baobab Ventures, Pegasus Innovation Lab, Masia, David Bennett, and Alex Brooker. Overwatch AI builds an airline operations platform that helps teams find operational answers before delays and disruptions compound.
siliXon - $1.5M, Seed round backed by System.One. siliXon is building conversational AI tools for printed circuit board design and hardware iteration.
Doozy Robotics - Undisclosed, Seed round backed by Cocoon Capital. Doozy Robotics combines autonomous mobile robots, forklifts, humanoid systems, and an orchestration layer for factory automation.
AVIAN - $2.6M, Pre-seed round led by Founderful. AVIAN builds always-on thermal monitoring for industrial fire prevention across wood, recycling, paper, maritime, mining, chemical processing, and oil and gas sites.
shatterdome energy - $3.5M, Pre-seed round led by Crucible Capital with Transpose Platform and Entrepreneurs First. shatterdome energy builds AI-driven virtual power plant software for renewable generation, battery storage, and flexible industrial demand.
CRACI - EUR 1.4M, Pre-seed round backed by Lifeline Ventures, First Fellow Partners, and Wave Ventures. CRACI helps software companies manage EU Cyber Resilience Act compliance inside their delivery workflows.
Stilta (YC W26) - $10M, Seed round backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and operators from OpenAI, Legora, Sana, Lovable, and Listen Labs. Stilta builds AI tools for patent litigation research and analysis.
Kin Health - $9M, Seed round backed by Maveron, Town Hall Ventures, Eniac Ventures, Flex Capital, The Family Fund, Pear VC, Watershed Ventures, Foundry Square Capital, and angels. Kin Health builds an AI notetaker and memory layer for patients.
Rely - $4.5M, Seed round led by 2048 Ventures with Range Ventures and Better Tomorrow Ventures. Rely builds an AI-native diligence platform for multifamily real estate transactions.
Amphiform - $5.5M, Seed round led by General Catalyst and Main Object with Embassy Ventures, K5 Global, Tokyo Black, Thomas Wolf, and Charlie Songhurst. Amphiform develops energy materials for data centers, space, and defense applications.
Ocean - $28M, Seed round backed by Lightspeed, Picture Capital, Cerca Partners, Assaf Rappaport, Yevgeny Dibrov, Nadir Izrael, and Dor Knafo. Ocean builds agentic email security that investigates intent and context rather than only matching suspicious patterns.
eVoost AI - EUR 2M, Seed round led by First Drop VC with Qora71, Hub71, and Mubadala. eVoost AI builds an AI operating system for residential real estate sales.
Invertix - EUR 1.7M, Pre-seed round backed by Vireo Ventures, Italian Founders Fund, and angels. Invertix builds AI workforce tools for renewable energy operators.
TerraByte AI - Undisclosed, Pre-seed round backed by Ascend, Pioneer Square Labs, and angels. TerraByte AI builds a model layer that turns satellite and geospatial data into queryable business intelligence.
Hellbender Inc. - $12.5M, Seed round backed by Magarac Venture Partners, Veredas Partners, Mana Ventures, Gaingels, SUM Ventures, and Active Angels Network. Hellbender builds edge camera hardware and manufacturing infrastructure for physical AI systems.
LawX - EUR 7.5M, Seed round backed by Motive Partners, WENVEST Capital, xdeck, SIVentures, Christoph Cordes, and Ralph Mueller. LawX builds AI back-office software for notaries and law firms.
Champ AI - $8.5M, Seed round backed by Redpoint Ventures, defy.vc, SV Angel, Max Mullen, and JJ Zhuang. Champ AI builds back-office automation software for enterprise operations teams.
Greenpixie - GBP 4.7M, Pre-Series A round led by VERBUND X Ventures with Octopus Ventures, Armajaro Holdings, and Green Angel Ventures. Greenpixie helps enterprises reduce AI and cloud energy waste.
Searchable - $14M, Seed round from Headline and Freestyle Capital. Searchable helps brands adapt to AI-driven customer discovery and buying journeys.

Series A

Aumet inc - $12M, Series A round backed by Emkan Capital, Qatar Development Bank, SABAH.fund, AAIC Investment, Shorooq, Right Side Capital Management, Cigalah Group, and Salehiya Healthcare. Aumet builds AI-powered healthcare procurement and inventory software across MENA.
Differential Robotics - Hundreds of millions of RMB, Series A1 round backed by Huakong Fund, Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, CCTV Fund, Luminous Ventures, 5Y Capital, Eastern Bell Capital, China Renaissance, SAIC Capital, Shenzhen Capital Group, Long Capital, and BV Baidu Ventures. Differential Robotics develops P300 autonomous flying robots for industrial and physical-AI applications.
ANSCER Robotics - $5.4M, Series A round led by IAN Alpha Fund with Info Edge and angels. ANSCER Robotics builds autonomous robots for moving goods inside factories and warehouses.
ClearOps - EUR 8.6M, Series A round led by Hitachi Ventures with Schoeller Group and Barkawi Group. ClearOps builds an AI operating system for industrial after-sales, spare-parts planning, and service coordination.
Hark - $700M, Series A round led by Parkway Venture Capital with Align Ventures, AMD Ventures, ARK Investment Management, Brookfield, Greycroft, Intel Capital, Prime Movers Lab, Qualcomm Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Tamarack Global. Hark is building a secretive universal AI interface with ambitions that may extend from software into hardware.
Scope AI - $20M, Series A round led by Index Ventures with Susa Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Syndicate One, and angels. Scope AI builds AI inspection software for testing, inspection, and certification workflows in physical infrastructure.
viktor.com - $75M, Series A round backed by Accel, Bek Ventures, KAYA VC, Inovo.vc, Tenacity Capital, Stewart Butterfield, Cal Henderson, and Victor Riparbelli. viktor.com builds team-native AI coworker software that operates inside collaboration workflows.

Series B

Pronto - $45M, Series B extension round led by Lachy Groom with Epiq Capital, Glade Brook Capital Partners, General Catalyst, and Bain Capital Ventures. Pronto operates a home-services marketplace whose opt-in worker video program could produce real-world household task data for physical AI and robotics models.
Featuring Corp. - $10.6M, Series B round backed by Stick Ventures, Albatross Investment, Magna Investment, Hana Ventures, Kiwoom Investment, Korea Development Bank, and Industrial Bank of Korea. Featuring Corp. builds AI-powered influencer marketing software that analyzes social channels, content, audiences, and campaign performance.
RemotePass - $17.4M, Series B round backed by EBRD VC, 500 Global, Oraseya Capital, 212, Access Bridge Ventures, and Khwarizmi Ventures. RemotePass builds global payroll, contractor management, and workforce compliance software.
Alice & Bob - EUR 100M, Series B extension investment from NVentures. Alice & Bob develops fault-tolerant quantum computing systems based on cat qubits.
Pivot - $40M, Series B round co-led by Forestay Capital and Notion Capital with Greyhound, Hedosophia, Visionaries Club, and Emblem. Pivot builds procurement operating-system software with agentic workflows layered over ERP and finance data.
RADAR - $170M, Series B round co-led by Gideon Strategic Partners and Nimble Partners with Align Ventures. RADAR builds AI-powered retail intelligence systems that let stores continuously track inventory and operational reality.
Nourish - $100M, Series B round backed by Menlo Ventures, Thrive Capital, J.P. Morgan, Maverick Ventures, Index Ventures, BoxGroup, Y Combinator, Atomico, Daybreak, and Operator Partners. Nourish builds connected nutrition, medication, labs, and coaching workflows for metabolic health.
Lexroom - EUR 42.9M, Series B round led by Left Lane Capital with Base10 Partners, Eurazeo, Acurio Ventures, Entourage Ventures, and View Different. Lexroom builds jurisdiction-specific legal AI software for European legal professionals.
Unframe - $50M, Series B round led by Highland Europe with Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures, TLV Partners, Third Point, Cerca Partners, and Vintage Investment Partners. Unframe builds enterprise AI delivery software for companies deploying AI into real workflows.
Cosmico - EUR 12M, Series B round led by P101 with PranaVentures. Cosmico operates a managed work marketplace and uses AI to automate talent matching, project execution, and network operations.
Xpanner - $18M, Series B bridge round led by Korea Investment Partners with KB Investment. Xpanner builds construction automation technology that upgrades existing heavy equipment for physical-AI workflows.

Series C and beyond

Moment - $78M, Series C round led by Index Ventures with Andreessen Horowitz and avra. Moment builds an AI operating system for investment management, spanning portfolio construction, compliance, surveillance, execution, and regulated agent workflows.
Gradiant - Undisclosed, Series E round backed by Safar Partners, Hostplus, and Clearvision Ventures. Gradiant builds industrial water and wastewater infrastructure that is becoming increasingly relevant to AI, semiconductor, and data center expansion.
Modal - $355M, Series C round led by General Catalyst and Redpoint Ventures with Menlo Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Accel. Modal builds programmable cloud infrastructure that makes GPU compute easier for AI developers to use and scale.
Socket - $60M, Series C round backed by Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, and Capital One Ventures. Socket builds software supply-chain security tools for an AI-assisted coding world where package behavior matters as much as known vulnerabilities.
Exa - $250M, Series C round led by Andreessen Horowitz with Benchmark, Lightspeed, Y Combinator, Scott Wu, Igor Babuschkin, Tal Broda, and others. Exa builds search and retrieval infrastructure for AI agents.

Growth / Strategic / Other

Ordermentum - $55M, Growth investment from Five V Capital. Ordermentum connects venues and suppliers through ordering, payments, and reconciliation workflows across Australia's wholesale food and beverage trade.
LetinAR - $18.5M, Pre-IPO financing backed by Korea Development Bank and Lotte Ventures. LetinAR builds optical modules for AI glasses and augmented-reality displays.
Fresha - EUR 68.9M, Growth investment from KKR. Fresha operates a beauty and wellness platform that owns booking, payments, marketplace, and increasingly AI-enabled workflow infrastructure.
Muybridge - $16M, Funding round backed by Investinor, Fairpoint, Idekapital, and RunwayFBU. Muybridge builds software-defined camera and imaging systems for AI-enabled video production and sensing.
Quartermaster - $43M, Funding round backed by First Round Capital and Quiet Capital. Quartermaster builds shared machine-readable maritime awareness infrastructure for ships and ocean operations.
ROBOXI - EUR 13M, Funding round from Knut Molaug and undisclosed Rogaland-region investors. ROBOXI builds autonomous airport airside operations technology for runway inspections and other safety-critical tasks.
Harmoney - EUR 10M, Strategic minority investment from Smile Sail. Harmoney builds counterparty risk management software for regulated enterprises.
Findd.AI - $21M, Growth investment from Unbundled Capital. Findd.AI builds AI-native workforce management software for frontline operations teams.
August Robotics - $30M, Funding round backed by Big Pi Ventures, Blackbird, Skip Capital, Tanarra, Future Family Office, and GS Futures. August Robotics builds precision construction robots for layout, drilling, and data center construction workflows.
Commure - $70M, Growth round backed by General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Morgan Stanley, and Kirkland & Ellis. Commure builds AI-enabled healthcare operations software across care delivery, revenue cycle, and administrative workflows.
Decart - $300M, Funding round backed by Radical Ventures, NVIDIA, Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, Adobe, Toyota Ventures, eBay Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Benchmark, Zeev Ventures, Andrej Karpathy, Michael Eisner, Yamauchi-No.10 Family Office, and Moritz Baier-Lentz. Decart builds real-time AI world models for video, games, and physical-AI applications.

Robotics and AI News

Google - Gemini 3.5: frontier intelligence with action - Google introduced Gemini 3.5 Flash as the first model in a new agent-focused family, emphasizing long-horizon execution, coding, graphics, and personal agent workflows through Gemini Spark. Google
CNBC - Job training for robots: How China is getting machines ready to join the workforce - CNBC reports that China is building humanoid robot training infrastructure, including centers that teach robots sorting and housekeeping tasks as part of a broader push to turn humanoids into useful labor systems. CNBC
Computerworld - Q&A: How video helps build robot brains for physical AI - Computerworld interviews Anaxi Labs co-founder Kate Shen on why physical AI needs purpose-built human-scale task video and annotation pipelines, not just YouTube-scale data or simulation. Computerworld
The Robot Report - The future of physical AI isn't humanoid; it's task-specific and cost-efficient - The Robot Report argues that practical physical AI may scale first through local inference on specialized machines built for narrow tasks, where cost, reliability, and deployment constraints matter more than humanoid form. The Robot Report
Data Center Dynamics - Kawasaki partners with Nvidia and Microsoft to integrate AI with robotics at new center in San Jose, California - report - Kawasaki is reportedly partnering with Nvidia and Microsoft on a San Jose robotics center, using Nvidia simulation and AI systems for robots such as Corleo while targeting healthcare, mobility, and industrial demonstrations with US partners. Data Center Dynamics
The Quantum Insider - AI-Run Robot Lab Creates Graphene And Builds Quantum Devices - Researchers at Princeton and collaborators built an autonomous quantum materials lab that combines LLMs, computer vision, robotics, and automated equipment to create graphene and assemble atomically thin transistor structures. The Quantum Insider
Euractiv - MEPs push to set up permanent AI and robotics committee - A group of MEPs is pushing the European Parliament to create a standing AI and robotics committee, citing the technology's impact on healthcare, labor markets, and defense as a reason for a permanent institutional response. Euractiv
Politico - Inside the next phase of OpenAI's political strategy - Politico reports that OpenAI is shifting more attention to state-level AI policy, with Chris Lehane framing the strategy as "reverse federalism" while federal AI legislation remains stalled. Politico

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