Watney Robotics Funding, Investors & Competitors

Ubtech Robotics Corp Ltd is engaged in design, production, commercialization, sales and marketing and research and development (R&D) of smart service robotic products and services. It offers consumer-level robots and appliances, enterprise-level smart service robotic products and services tailored for education, logistics and other sectors, are equipped to different extent with smart features that sense, interact, analyze and process human instructions and external environment such as mapping, temperature measurement and facial recognition.

Figure is a robotics company developing general-purpose humanoid robots for industrial applications in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, and retail. Sunnyvale-based and founded in 2022, it deploys the Figure 01 model equipped with AI-driven vision, manipulation, and mobility capabilities powered by OpenAI's large language models for natural interaction and task learning. The robots handle repetitive and hazardous tasks autonomously, integrating with existing warehouse management systems from partners like BMW for automotive production lines. Figure operates pilot programs in BMW's South Carolina facility to validate scalability across labor-intensive sectors.

IonQ Inc sells access to several quantum computers of various qubit capacities and is in the process of researching and developing technologies for quantum computers with increasing computational capabilities. The company currently makes access to its quantum computers available via cloud platforms and also to select customers via its own cloud service. This cloud-based approach enables the broad availability of quantum-computing-as-a-service (QCaaS). The company derives its revenue from its quantum-computing-as-a-service arrangements, consulting services related to co-developing algorithms on company's quantum computing systems and contracts associated with the design, development, and construction of specialized quantum computing systems together with related services.

Skild AI is a San Francisco-headquartered startup building foundation models for robotics that enable spatial intelligence and adaptive manipulation in unstructured environments. The company trains multimodal AI on real-world data from humanoid robots to handle tasks like grasping and navigation without task-specific programming. Skild AI raised funding from investors including Benchmark and focuses on warehouse automation and manufacturing applications.

Shield AI is a San Diego-headquartered defense technology company that develops autonomous systems including V-BAT vertical takeoff aircraft, X-BAT unmanned systems, Hivemind Enterprise autonomy software, and Hivemind Vision sensors. Founded in 2015, Shield AI maintains nine offices across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, supporting military operations with AI-driven drones and swarm intelligence.

Saronic is an Austin-headquartered developer of autonomous surface vessels for maritime defense and surveillance. The company integrates hardware, software, and AI into scalable platforms like the Spyglass and Corsair models for naval operations. Saronic's vessels support intelligence gathering, patrol, and swarm tactics for U.S. Navy and allied forces. Founded in 2022, it collaborates with defense contractors on programs enhancing domain awareness in contested waters.

Neuralink is a neurotechnology company founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a group of scientists and engineers, focused on developing implantable brain–computer interface (BCI) devices. Its primary product, the N1 chip, is surgically implanted into the skull by a precision robotic system called R1, enabling direct communication between the human brain and external computers or devices. The company's stated mission is to address neurological conditions such as paralysis, blindness, and severe motor impairments, allowing patients to control digital devices using thought alone. In January 2024, Neuralink implanted its first BCI device in a human patient, with the individual subsequently demonstrating the ability to control a computer cursor through neural signals. Headquartered in Fremont, California, the company operates at the intersection of neuroscience, robotics, and semiconductor engineering, and has attracted significant attention for its long-term ambitions around human-AI symbiosis.

Quantum Systems is a Munich-based manufacturer of AI-powered drones like Trinity Pro and Vector for defense, security, and emergency response. Its heavy-lift VTOL systems provide BVLOS reconnaissance with EO/IR payloads and real-time data analytics, serving NATO forces, border patrols, and firefighting units in Europe and the Middle East.

NEURA Robotics is a developer of cognitive robots for industrial automation and service applications. Its systems feature 3D vision, tactile sensing, and AI for human-robot collaboration in assembly, logistics, and eldercare. Munich-headquartered and spun out from Fortiss in 2022, NEURA deploys humanoid arms in food production and medical labs across Germany and the US.

Automation Anywhere is a leader in robotic process automation with its cloud-native platform combining RPA, AI, process discovery, and analytics. Founded in 2003 and San Jose-headquartered, it automates tasks across finance, HR, and IT for enterprises worldwide. The IQ Bot handles document processing, while Bot Store offers pre-built automations. Automation Anywhere serves sectors in over 180 countries with integrations to SAP and ServiceNow.

D-Wave Quantum Inc is in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services, and it is the commercial supplier of quantum computers and the only company building both annealing quantum computers and gate-model quantum computers. It delivers customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. Its annealing quantum computers are accessible through the company's LeapTM cloud service.

XPENG Robotics is the humanoid robotics arm of Chinese smart-EV maker XPeng, operating as Shenzhen Pengxing Intelligence Co., Ltd. (鹏行智能). The unit was incorporated in December 2020 around XPeng's acquisition of quadruped robot startup Dogotix, and builds embodied AI systems — an earlier consumer robotic pony and robotic arm, and since 2025 the IRON humanoid robot, which runs on XPeng's own Turing AI chip. After its August 2026 financing XPeng Group holds roughly 82% of the unit, which stays a consolidated subsidiary.

Nuro is an autonomous vehicle company that designs driverless delivery pods for last-mile logistics. Mountain View-headquartered Nuro debuted its R2 and R3 vehicles equipped with the Nuro Driver system for Level 4 autonomy in controlled domains. The firm partners with retailers including Walmart, Kroger, and Domino's Pizza to deploy unmanned deliveries in California, Texas, and Arizona. Founded in 2016 by former Google engineers, Nuro expanded operations through a 2023 collaboration with Uber Eats for grocery transport in select U.S. markets.

Core Scientific Inc is engaged in designing, building and operating digital infrastructure for high-performance computing. The business operates in three operating segments; Digital Asset Self-Mining, consisting of performing digital asset mining for the own account, Digital Asset Hosted Mining, consisting of providing hosting services to third parties for digital asset mining, and HPC Hosting, consisting of providing hosting services to third parties for graphics processing unit (GPU) based HPC hosting operations. The majority of revenue is derived from the Digital Asset Self-Mining Segment.

Physical Intelligence is a robotics firm developing foundation models and algorithms for general-purpose AI in physical tasks. Its technology enables robots to handle diverse applications across industries through simulation-to-reality transfer and dexterous manipulation.

Apptronik is an Austin-based developer of humanoid robots including the Apollo model for logistics, manufacturing, and service applications. The company builds general-purpose robots capable of handling repetitive tasks in warehouses and hazardous environments to boost human productivity. Apptronik collaborates with NASA and delivers systems through its manufacturing services division, focusing on bipedal mobility, dexterity, and AI-driven autonomy.

Didi Woya is a Beijing-headquartered autonomous driving unit of Didi Chuxing focused on robotaxi development. The division deploys self-driving vehicles equipped with 360-degree sensors, machine learning, and IoT for ridesharing tests in China. Didi Woya advances commercialization of Level 4 autonomy for efficient urban transport.

Momenta is a Beijing-headquartered autonomous driving software company developing deep learning solutions for perception, high-definition semantic mapping, and path planning. The firm provides multi-level autonomy stacks and big data services, drawing on expertise from Faster R-CNN, ResNet developers, and ImageNet challenge winners.