SoftBank Group and Nvidia are reportedly in discussions to lead an investment exceeding $1 billion in Skild AI, valuing the nearly three-year-old robotics software startup at $14 billion, according to Reuters. If completed, this would nearly triple Skild AI’s valuation from its last funding round in May, when the company raised $500 million at a $4.7 billion valuation in a round led by SoftBank, with participation from LG Technology Ventures, Samsung, Nvidia, and others, PitchBook data shows. “Skild didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. SoftBank and Nvidia declined to comment.”
Unlike other heavily funded robotics startups, Skild AI is not developing proprietary hardware. Instead, it focuses on building a robot-agnostic foundational model that can be customized for a wide range of robots and applications. In July, the company unveiled its general-purpose robot model, Skild Brain, showcasing robots performing tasks such as picking up dishes and navigating stairs. The startup has also forged strategic partnerships with LG CNS and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to advance its robotics ecosystem.
Investor appetite for AI-driven robotics continues to grow. Physical Intelligence, a company building “brains” for various robots, recently raised $600 million at a $5.6 billion valuation in a round led by CapitalG. One investor who evaluated but declined to fund Physical Intelligence told TechCrunch that its model remains in the early stages of development.
Meanwhile, other robotics ventures are drawing significant attention. Figure, a humanoid robot developer, raised over $1 billion at a $39 billion valuation in September, and 1X, another humanoid robotics startup, was reportedly in talks to secure up to $1 billion at a $10 billion valuation, The Information reported earlier this year.
With Skild AI focusing on software-driven, robot-agnostic intelligence, rather than hardware, the company aims to provide scalable AI solutions across multiple robotic platforms. If the SoftBank and Nvidia-led funding materializes, it will mark one of the largest investments in AI-driven robotics, highlighting increasing investor confidence in the next generation of adaptable and intelligent robot systems.
