New figures from Crunchbase this week show that robotics investing is taking off. Once again, we are moving in a positive direction.. The overall numbers have been steadily declining over the past two years, after a record-breaking 2021 due to job losses caused by the pandemic. As we move into the second half of the year, 2024 is expected to surpass last year’s numbers.
In the first six months of this year, $4.2 billion was invested in the category, putting it on track to surpass 2023’s 12-month total of $6.8 billion. This figure is still far short of the COVID-19 peak in 2021 ($17.7 billion, $10.3 billion in 2022).
But it signals a recovery from the one-two punch of economic headwinds and post-pandemic reopenings, which brought the industry back down to earth.
The hot humanoid category continues to grow in popularity. Figure leads the pack with a $675 million Series B. That impression alone moved the needle a little. Another notable humanoid investment was made through 1X. The Norwegian company, which counts OpenAI as an early backer, raised $100 million.
Medical robotics is having a good year thanks to major investments from MMI and Rono Surgical, but labor replacement is once again the biggest driver as companies look to automate hard-to-fill jobs in spaces like warehouses and factories.
This demand is not going away anytime soon, and the continued investment excitement around all things AI is likely to further fuel the growth of robotics startups. Unfortunately, it may take another pandemic for things to reach 2021 levels.
