Humanoid robotics startup Sunday has reached unicorn status with a $1.15 billion valuation after raising $165 million in Series B funding led by Coatue Management. The company, founded by Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi, emerged from stealth last year with a waitlist of 1,000 potential customers. Tiger Global, Benchmark, and Bain Capital Ventures also participated in the round.

Sunday is developing Memo, a household humanoid robot designed to handle chores like laundry and clearing tables. The company aims to solve a decades-old robotics challenge: creating a reliable household assistant similar to the Jetsons' Rosie. Previous attempts have failed largely due to difficulties in teaching robots to grasp objects of varying weights, textures, and fragility - from towels to wineglasses.

The funding comes as AI technology advances rapidly, enabling new robotic applications. Sunday's approach leverages improved machine learning to address the training data problem that has long plagued household robotics. The company's progress suggests the market may finally be ready for consumer humanoid robots after years of overpromising and underdelivering.