Silicon Valley is leading the world in robotics
The SF/SV Bay Area is inescapable but that doesn't mean you have to stay here all the time :)
I moved to Silicon Valley back in 2010 because I had zero doubt that this was going to be the epicenter of the global robotics revolution. All the right resources for robotics companies were here, they just weren’t very visible, and Silicon Valley wasn’t quite ready for robots back then, barring a few forward thinking investors and founders.
When Silicon Valley Robotics was founded in 2010 to grow the ecosystem and to support innovation and commercialization of robotics technologies there were about 60 robotics companies in the Bay Area. Today there are 800 to 1000 robotics companies founded and headquartered here, but there are also many more setting up satellite offices or at the very least coming here to fundraise and to do business.
I sympathize with Lukas Ziegler who recently spent some time in the Bay Area and tried to map the ecosystem. I’m sorry mate but you will not fit 1000 logos on to that map.
Agility Robotics opens Fremont location on July 16
Yesterday we [from Agility Robotics] opened our new Fremont, California facility — a 60,000-square-foot hub in the heart of Silicon Valley, where our teams train, test, and advance both the physical AI that teaches Digit new skills and the hardware behind future robots.
Fremont puts us next to the world's deepest AI talent and lets us develop new capabilities faster, then get them working in real customer operations. It complements RoboFab, our manufacturing facility and headquarters in Salem, Oregon. Together, the two sites cover the full range of engineering behind Digit, from AI to hardware.
We're hiring nearly 200 people across AI/ML software, hardware engineering, and field operations to lead it.
The demand is real: active deployments with Schaeffler, GXO, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, and Mercado Libre, plus more than $300 million in orders for Digit V5. Agility is one of the only companies operationally deploying humanoids in real enterprise environments — and Fremont is how we stay there.
Explore open roles → https://lnkd.in/gXb-MRhn
And some nice snippets via TechCrunch
Unlike many of the newer entrants to the humanoid space, Agility isn’t planning to offer in-home humanoid robots anytime soon. It’s a view that jibes with that of most independent robotics experts, who believe today’s most powerful robots aren’t safe enough for consumer use. Digit operates in a human-free space right now, but the version 5, expected to be unveiled this fall, will have the ability to sense humans and won’t need to be kept in a robot-only zone.
Co-founder and chief robot officer Jonathan Hurst said there is plenty of work to keep Agility busy in manufacturing and logistics alone.
“Let’s start with the bins and the totes, and then let’s do the picking and the kitting,” Hurst told TechCrunch. “And then let’s like start working on cardboard, which is really hard, and loading and unloading tractor trailers and things like that. Okay, now we’re at 100 million robots, you know? A trillion-dollar company.”
International Women in Robotics Day - October 7 2026 - Save the date!
Latest Women in Robotics Scholarships
Welcome Revati Naik to the Women in Robotics Board
Spotlights - Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility Robotics
Spotlights - Zinny Weli & Celine Wang, Co-founders of RoboDock
Spotlights - Alonna Pammer, Co-founder and CTO of Devanthro
Chapter Highlights - New York and San Francisco Bay Area
Get involved!
Robotics News
Agility Robotics Plants Its Flag In Tesla’s Backyard - TechCrunch
Samsung revamps robotics operations for humanoid push, floats new ‘HX’ division - Korea Joong Ang Daily
Is Data Collection A Good Business? - 36Kr
With new funding, Monumental plans to bring its construction robots to the U.S. - The Robot Report
He sold his last company to Palantir. Now he’s betting $32 million that robots can fix construction’s labor crisis - Fortune
NVIDIA Just Released a Seriously Impressive AI Model for Robots—This Could Be the Big Catalyst - 247WallSt
Hyundai Now Fully Owns The Robot Maker Its Own Workers Went On Strike To Stop - Carscoops
We Just Had The First Humanoid Strike Ever - Forbes
The Fight Over Humanoid Robots Has Shut Down a Car Factory for the First Time - WSJ
Fear of humanoid robots spurs human workers to strike at Hyundai auto factory - ArsTechnica
A Humanoid Company Backed by Eric Trump Is Preparing Its Robots for War - Wired
Video Friday: Your robot surgeon will see you now - IEEE Spectrum
Roubini Says AI and Robots Are Coming For Your Jobs - Bloomberg
Nouriel Roubini, CEO of Roubini Macro Associates, says even if you raise the retirement age, a large part of the population will be replaced by AI and robots at their jobs in the next 20 or 25 years. He speaks on “Bloomberg Money.”
Bite my shiny metal ass! TV’s all-time top robots - The Guardian
The Scenarionist has done a great interview with Sabrina Sasaki, Partner at Monozukuri Ventures, exploring how scientific founders can move from laboratory validation to industrial adoption, why milestones must reflect the physical complexity of the product, and how Japan’s manufacturing ecosystem can support international commercialization through pilots, co-development, and strategic partnerships.
Key takeaways from the episode:
🤖 Physical AI requires more than great hardware
Hardware creates access to the physical world, but long-term value comes from turning data into useful predictions, insights, and operational decisions. The strongest companies understand how the physical system fits into a broader software and data architecture.
🔬 A laboratory prototype is not yet a commercial product
Real industrial environments introduce variability, integration constraints, and reliability requirements that controlled experiments cannot fully reproduce. Founders need to test assumptions in the field and adapt the technology around the customer’s actual problem.
💰 Deep Tech milestones must reflect the physics of the product
Different technologies require different amounts of time, capital, and technical progress before reaching a credible result. A meaningful milestone should demonstrate measurable progress toward a commercially viable product while reflecting the time, capital, and technical resources required at that stage of development.
🇯🇵 Japan offers more than access to a large industrial market
Its specialized manufacturers, suppliers, and engineering capabilities can help startups validate, develop, and manufacture complex technologies. For the right company, these partnerships can provide access to resources and expertise that may complement or offer an alternative to developing certain capabilities internally.
Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database
Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our “For Investors Eyes Only” sheet.
These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.
Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.
Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.
If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!
Robotics Events
Want to host an event or reach the robotics community?
Many companies are reaching out to Silicon Valley Robotics about hosting events, outreach or hiring and we have a great community network, of people looking for work, of investors interested in deal flow and of technologists interested in learning about the latest advances.
Would you be interested in hosting the next Bots, Bevs and Devs? Or something customized specifically for your goals? Reach out here!
More Robotics Events:
You are first to be invited to the next Bots, Bevs and Devs on August 5 at Foxglove in San Francisco.
Open Sauce - San Francisco - July 17 - July 19
Bots, Bevs & Devs - San Francisco - Aug 5
Actuate - San Francisco - Aug 18 - Aug 19
Ruggedize - Salinas - Aug 26 - Aug 27
Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Sep 2
SVR Investor Summit and Manufacturing Workshop - tbd - tbd
ROSCon Global - Toronto - Sep 22 - Sep 24
IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh - Sep 27 - Oct 1
Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Oct 7
Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Nov4
Bots, Bevs & Devs - tbd - Dec 2
IEEE Humanoids 2026 - Silicon Valley - Dec 6-9
The annual IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots is the internationally recognized prime event of the humanoid robotics community. The conference is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society and coordinated by the Technical Committee on Humanoids.
Send me your 2026 progress, plans or posts for potential inclusion in Robots&Startups. Or join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org
Silicon Valley may be leading robotics, but not in the old sense of “where the machines are built.” Its real advantage is becoming the physical AI control layer: talent, capital, simulation, foundation models, enterprise pilots, and the trust network that turns a robot demo into a deployable system. The Agility Fremont move captures the shift well. Manufacturing can sit elsewhere. The intelligence, iteration, customer feedback, and investor gravity still pull toward the Bay Area. But the race is no longer geography alone. Japan brings manufacturing discipline. China brings scale and policy acceleration. Korea brings industrial deployment pressure. Europe brings applied engineering depth. The next robotics winners will not be the companies with the best humanoid videos. They will be the ones that solve the unglamorous middle layer: safety, reliability, fleet learning, field service, workflow integration, and labour acceptance. Robotics is finally becoming real because it is no longer only about robots. It is about whether physical AI can survive contact with factories, warehouses, hospitals, and the people who work there.
Great overview of how a strong ecosystem, talent, and long-term investment can accelerate innovation in robotics