SoftBank Leads $500M Series F in Agile Robots at $8.5B Valuation

Agile Robots has raised $500 million in Series F funding at an $8.5 billion valuation, with SoftBank Group leading the round and Nvidia participating, The New York Times reports. The deal pushes the Munich-based industrial robotics developer's total funding to roughly $2 billion — enough to put it among Europe's most valuable robotics businesses.

Hitachi Group also joined the financing, alongside Hitachi Ventures, T.Capital and other investors. That investor mix matters: you've got SoftBank's capital, Nvidia's AI infrastructure muscle and Hitachi's industrial footprint betting on the same company.

What does this change for manufacturers?

Plenty. Agile Robots builds humanoid robots, mobile robotic systems, robotic arms, intelligent hands and the AI software that runs them. The company, founded in 2018 as a spin-off from the German Aerospace Center, targets industrial work that has traditionally demanded human dexterity, adaptability and decision-making — tasks conventional automation couldn't handle.

The company has already deployed more than 20,000 robotic solutions worldwide. Its customer base spans automotive manufacturing, consumer electronics, healthcare and logistics.

The new capital has four stated destinations:

• Accelerated expansion in the United States
• Increased manufacturing capacity in Germany
• Entry into additional markets
• Development of new industrial robotics applications

The financing also backs a bigger ambition: commercializing physical AI — artificial intelligence combined with machines that can interact with the physical world.

Capacity is already being built

Earlier in 2026, Agile Robots opened a manufacturing facility in Fürstenfeldbruck, near Munich. The plant can produce up to 10,000 legged and wheeled humanoid robots per year. That's real infrastructure for a market where manufacturers are increasingly asking robots to handle complex, variable tasks — not just repeat predetermined instructions.

Advances in AI models, robotic perception and motion planning are opening the door to machines that adapt to changing factory environments. Agile Robots' valuation suggests investors believe the company can pair advanced AI models with commercially deployable hardware at scale.

The engineering bench behind the valuation

The company employs more than 3,500 people from nearly 60 countries. Over 2,000 of them are R&D specialists. Agile Robots holds more than 650 patents, covering robotics engineering, intelligent automation and AI systems.

Its portfolio runs through four subsidiaries, each covering a different capability layer:

• Franka Robotics — robotic manipulation
• BÄR Automation — industrial automation
• Idealworks — mobile robotics
• Krause Automation — production systems

That breadth lets the company sell integrated systems rather than single components — a structural advantage when factory customers want one vendor across manipulation, mobility and production.

Why Europe is watching this closely

For Europe, physical AI is a chance to leverage established strengths in industrial engineering and manufacturing while competing with American and Chinese players in emerging AI markets. An $8.5 billion European robotics champion with SoftBank and Nvidia on the cap table is exactly the kind of asset the continent has struggled to produce in AI.

The round also signals the convergence of three previously separate domains: AI infrastructure, robotics software and industrial manufacturing. Nvidia's participation is the tell here — the chipmaker is positioning itself upstream of wherever physical AI gets deployed on factory floors.

What does this change for practitioners? For one, expect U.S. availability of Agile Robots' systems to scale faster, with German capacity behind it. For another, a company with 20,000 deployments, 650 patents and now $500 million in fresh capital will compress the timeline on humanoid adoption in logistics and electronics assembly. Manufacturers evaluating automation roadmaps this year will likely face a more capable European contender in the mix.