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Physical Intelligence seeks $1b in new funding talks
Physical Intelligence, a San Francisco-based robotics AI startup, is in early talks to raise about US$1 billion at a valuation of more than US$11 billion, including capital raised, people familiar with the matter said.
The round would follow a US$600 million funding last year that valued the two-year-old company at US$5.6 billion. The terms are still being discussed and could change.
Founders Fund is expected to join the round, while Lightspeed Venture Partners is also in talks alongside existing investors including Thrive Capital and Lux Capital, the people said.
Physical Intelligence has raised more than US$1 billion to date and has tested its software on robotic arms for tasks such as folding clothes and assembling boxes.
🔗 Source: Bloomberg
🧠 Food for thought
Implications, context, and why it matters.
Top AI researchers and a software-first plan drive the valuation
- Physical Intelligence was co-founded by robot-learning researchers Karol Hausman, Sergey Levine, and Chelsea Finn. Their backgrounds include Google DeepMind, UC Berkeley, and Stanford 1.
- The group is taking a software-first path to build a universal AI “brain” that can run robots made by different manufacturers 1.
- A hardware-agnostic model reduces task-by-task programming. Backers include Alphabet’s CapitalG (Alphabet’s growth-stage venture fund), Jeff Bezos, and OpenAI 1.
Physical AI targets automation for hands-on work
- Investors are leaning into “physical AI.” NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang calls it “the next wave of AI” 2.
- Chatbots handle text work. Physical AI can take on non-digital tasks. Deloitte’s analysis puts physical work at 24% of total task hours in the U.S. federal government 2.
- Falling hardware forecasts also help the case. Goldman Sachs reports humanoid manufacturing costs fell 40% from 2022 to 2023 2.
- Adoption may still pair people with machines. Amazon says its facility workforce added hundreds of thousands of employees since it began deploying robots in fulfillment centers in 2012 3.
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