Report: Q3 funding for robotics startups surged by 185%, with China and the United States leading the development of physical AI

According to Crunchbase data, global venture capital investment in robotics startups reached $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026, more than doubling from $4.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025, with a year-on-year growth of approximately 185%. In the first three quarters of 2026, financing in the robotics sector grew by about 185% year-on-year, with several consecutive quarters approaching or exceeding $10 billion.

This year's robotics financing is largely concentrated in China and the United States, with China receiving $13.2 billion and the United States $12.1 billion, while Germany ranks third with $1.7 billion. The largest financing in China includes $900 million for Guangzhou Xiaopeng Robotics and $736 million in Series C funding for Shenzhen AI² Robotics. In the United States, Travis Kalanick's Atoms and Pittsburgh's Skild AI both completed billion-dollar financing, with Skild AI raising $1.4 billion for its robotics foundation model Skild Brain. Germany's Neura Robotics raised $1.4 billion for cognitive robotics.