Robotics investments top $749M in December 2023

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Robotics companies raised $749 million in December 2023 as a result of 41 investments. You can see each investment in the table below or a PDF version here. Robotics investments reached about $12.9 billion for 2023.

In December 2023, makers of autonomous mobile robots for indoor applications such as e-commerce fulfillment were well represented. Examples include GreyOrange ($135M), Cyngn ($5M), Instock ($3.2M) and SWARM Robotics.

Companies producing mobile systems for outdoor use also received sizable rounds. For example, Mu Qin Zhi Neng ($5M), Oak Heron Technology ($2.5M), and Greenfield ($2M) all produce systems for agricultural operations, while Gecko Robotics ($100M) provides robots for industrial inspection.

Robotics Investments – December 2023

As seen in Figure 2, U.S. companies received the greatest number of rounds (14) and the greatest investment amount ($512M). This figure was fueled by significant outlays for Shield AI ($200M), a developer of an autonomy stack for aircraft operations, and Gecko Robotics ($100M). Chinese firms also received substantial funding ($170M, 12 companies), of which $85M went to Zhiyuan Robotics, a Shanghai-based developer of humanoid robots. Companies in Germany ($16M), Korea ($11M), and Switzerland ($11M), also received significant rounds.

Figure 2: December 2023 Robotics Investment by Country

All funding types were well represented in December 2023 (Figure 3, below). For both the total number of investments and the overall amount of funding, most rounds and investment amounts fell into the ‘Other’ category, followed by Series A funding rounds.

Figure 3: December 2023 Robotics Funding by Investment Type and Amounts

Total robotics funding for 2023 equals approximately $12.9 billion (Figure 1, below). The average monthly robotics investment over that period equals about $1.07 billion. Funding in November 2023 was $418 million. You can read all The Robot Report‘s investment coverage here.

Figure 1: Monthly Robotics Investment for 2023

Editor’s note
What defines robotics investments? The answer to this simple question is central in any attempt to quantify them with some degree of rigor. To make investment analyses consistent, repeatable, and valuable, it is critical to wring out as much subjectivity as possible during the evaluation process. This begins with a definition of terms and a description of assumptions.

Investors and investing
Investment should come from venture capital firms, corporate investment groups, angel investors, and other sources. Friends-and-family investments, government/non-governmental agency grants, and crowd-sourced funding are excluded.

Robotics companies
Robotics companies must generate or expect to generate revenue from the production of robotics products (that sense, analyze, and act in the physical world), hardware or software subsystems and enabling technologies for robots, or services supporting robotics devices. For this analysis, autonomous vehicles (including technologies that support autonomous driving) and drones are considered robots, while 3D printers, CNC systems, and various types of “hard” automation are not.

Companies that are “robotic” in name only, or use the term “robot” to describe products and services that do not enable or support devices acting in the physical world, are excluded. For example, this includes “software robots” and robotic process automation. Many firms have multiple locations in different countries. Company locations given in the analysis are based on the publicly listed headquarters in legal documents, press releases, etc.

Verification
Funding information is collected from several public and private sources. These include press releases from corporations and investment groups, corporate briefings, market research firms, and association and industry publications. In addition, information comes from sessions at conferences and seminars, as well as during private interviews with industry representatives, investors, and others. Unverifiable investments are excluded and estimates are made where investment amounts are not provided or are unclear.