TechCrunch Robotics
Covering cutting-edge robotics companies and the latest robotics research from labs
This Simulation Startup Wants to Be the Cursor for Physical AI
Antioch, a New York‑based simulation startup, raised an $8.5 million seed round that values the company at $60 million. The funding, led by A* and Category Ventures, backs a platform that builds high‑fidelity digital twins of robots with realistic sensor feeds. By letting developers test edge cases, run reinforcement learning and generate training data in a virtual warehouse, Antioch aims to shrink the sim‑to‑real gap that hampers physical AI. The service targets early‑stage robotics firms that lack the capital to construct costly physical test arenas.
Gecko Robotics Lands the Largest US Navy Robotics Deal Yet
The U.S. Navy has signed a five‑year IDIQ contract with Pittsburgh‑based Gecko Robotics, starting with a $54 million award and a $71 million ceiling. Gecko’s autonomous inspection robots will crawl inside 18 Pacific Fleet vessels to generate detailed digital twins and feed...
Amazon Halts Blue Jay Robotics Project After Less than 6 Months
Amazon has halted its Blue Jay warehouse robotics project less than six months after its public debut. The multi‑armed robot, unveiled in October to speed same‑day delivery, was built in roughly a year—significantly faster than Amazon’s prior robot programs. Amazon says...
Upside Robotics Is Reducing Fertilizer Use and Waste in Corn Crops
Upside Robotics secured a $7.5 million seed round to scale its solar‑powered autonomous fertilizer robots for corn. The robots, driven by proprietary algorithms, have already cut fertilizer use by 70%, saving roughly $150 per acre. After testing on 70 acres in...
Humanoid Robot Startup Apptronik Has Now Raised $935M at a $5B+ Valuation
Apptronik, a University of Texas spin‑out building humanoid robots, reopened its Series A to raise a total of $935 million, pushing its post‑money valuation to roughly $5.3 billion. The round added $520 million from existing backers Google, Mercedes‑Benz and B Capital, alongside new investors, and...
Gather AI, Maker of ‘Curious’ Warehouse Drones, Lands $40M Led by Keith Block’s Firm
Gather AI announced a $40 million Series B round led by Keith Block’s Smith Point Capital, bringing its total funding to $74 million. The Boston startup equips warehouse cameras and autonomous drones with a Bayesian‑based AI that ‘gets curious’ to scan barcodes, expiration...
Apeiron Labs Gets $9.5M to Flood the Oceans with Autonomous Underwater Robots
Apeiron Labs announced a $9.5 million Series A round to scale its low‑cost autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that sample temperature, salinity and acoustics across the water column. The three‑foot, 20‑pound AUVs can be launched from boats or aircraft, operate in 10‑20 km spaced...
Anduril Has Invented a Wild New Drone Flying Contest Where Jobs Are the Prize
Anduril has launched the AI Grand Prix, an autonomous drone‑racing contest that tests participants' software‑writing skills rather than piloting ability. The event, held in Ohio, offers a $500,000 prize pool and direct hiring opportunities that bypass the company’s normal recruiting...
Palmer Luckey Says the Coolest Thing About Anduril Expanding to Long Beach Is the Fighter Jets
Anduril Industries announced a new Long Beach campus covering 1.18 million sq ft, slated for mid‑2027 completion. The facility will create about 5,500 new jobs across engineering, manufacturing and logistics. It will serve as the production hub for the autonomous Fury fighter jet, which...
Why Serve Robotics Is Acquiring a Hospital Assistant Robot Company
Serve Robotics announced a $29 million acquisition of Diligent Robotics, the creator of Moxi hospital assistant robots. Diligent, founded in 2017, has raised over $75 million, including a $25 million round in 2023. The deal marks Serve’s first move beyond its sidewalk food‑delivery...
How YC-Backed Bucket Robotics Survived Its First CES
Bucket Robotics, a Y Combinator Spring 2024 graduate, made its CES debut after founder Matt Puchalski drove 12 hours to Las Vegas to avoid flight delays. The startup showcased a vision‑based surface‑inspection system that generates simulated defects from CAD files,...
Oshen Built the First Ocean Robot to Collect Data in a Category 5 Hurricane
Oshen, founded by Anahita Laverack and Ciaran Dowds, has built the first autonomous ocean robot to collect data inside a Category 5 hurricane. Their C‑Stars can operate for up to 100 days and were deployed in a swarm of fifteen during...
I Met a Lot of Weird Robots at CES — Here Are the Most Memorable
CES 2026 turned the Las Vegas floor into a robotics runway, debuting Boston Dynamics' production‑ready Atlas and a parade of Chinese bots that blend entertainment with emerging utility. Sharpa showcased a ping‑pong‑playing robot to highlight its dexterous hand, while EngineAI...
Mobileye Acquires Humanoid Robot Startup Mentee Robotics for $900M
Mobileye announced a $900 million acquisition of Mentee Robotics, the humanoid‑robot startup co‑founded by its president Amnon Shashua. The deal consists of $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million Mobileye shares, and is slated to close in Q1 2026. Mobileye frames...
Former Rivian Exec Says ‘Every Car Company Will Become a Robotics Company’
Former Rivian chief growth officer Jiten Behl, now a partner at Eclipse, argues that every automaker will evolve into a robotics company as AI‑driven factories replace low‑cost overseas labor. He highlighted Rivian’s strategy of spinning out startups like Also and...
