Tech Giants Invest in German Robotics Start-Up at $8.5 Billion Valuation

Agile Robots, a German company developing industrial robots powered by artificial intelligence, has raised $500 million in new funding from investors including SoftBank and Nvidia that values the start-up at $8.5 billion.The investment will allow Agile to expand in the United States, increase production in Germany and move into new markets — ahead of a potential future initial public offering, said Zhaopeng Chen, Agile’s founder.The company is working with partners including Google DeepMind and has raised a total of $2 billion.Agile is among a crop of fast-growing companies combining artificial intelligence and robotics to help factories increase productivity and lower costs.

Developing humanoids and other robots that can carry out more complex tasks in the physical world is critical in Europe, which is trying to narrow an A.I.gap with the United States and China and revive its struggling industries.“Physical A.I.

is one of the solutions for Europe,” said Mr.Chen, who started the company in Germany in 2018 after studying engineering in China and completing his doctorate at the German Aerospace Center.Agile’s valuation puts the start-up on par with European companies including Quantum Systems, the German defense technology company valued at $8 billion in July, and Wayve, the British autonomous driving company valued at $8.6 billion in February.

Neura Robotics, a German company that has raised funds from companies including Nvidia, Amazon and the cryptocurrency company Tether, was valued at about $7 billion after raising as much as $1.4 billion....