German robotics startup Rob Co has sold shares in a deal valuing the company at over $1 billion—double its earlier valuation this year, highlighting investor enthusiasm for physical AI systems. The company makes autonomous industrial robots aimed at automating repetitive manual tasks like stacking pallets and weighing raw materials. Its new flagship product is a two-armed, self-learning robot called Alfie that mimics human workers on factory floors.
Rob Co sold $40 million worth of shares—mostly from employees—to new and existing investors. This follows a $100 million fundraising in January that valued the business at roughly $500 million. Robotics and physical AI startups raised $33.4 billion in the first half of the year, more than all of 2025, per Pitch Book.
New investors include Cherry Ventures and European Tech Collective, a fund backed by founders from Wiz and payments giant Adyen. Existing investors participating include Sequoia, Lightspeed, Lingotto (backed by Stellantis family), and Leitmotif (funded by Volkswagen). Founded in 2020 by researchers from the Technical University of Munich, Rob Co has sold over 1,000 robots to customers including BMW.
CEO Roman Hölzl relocated to San Francisco to lead U.S. expansion, focusing on operations in Austin and San Francisco. Alfie robot can learn from mistakes and adapt to new tasks in real time. Sequoia partner Luciana Lixandru noted manufacturing labor shortages as a key driver for robot adoption.
Source: Wall Street Journal Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing