Along with Nvidia, Foxconn, Amazon and Softbank Vision Fund 2 are other major players who have invested in Agility Robotics.
Agility Robotics, will become the first humanoid robotmaker to get publicly listed in the US on Thursday. The Nvidia backed startup merged with Churchill Capital Corp. XI. earlier and will begin trading on Nasdaq, under the ticker “AGLT”.
The company has about $405 million on hand, before expenses, including a $201 million investment in private equity by Foxconn. Nvidia, Amazon and Softbank Vision Fund 2 are other major investors in Agility.
The listing comes a few months after the Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer Unitree went public on Shanghai’s STAR Market in August. Agility unveiled its new humanoid model Digit 5, in September, designed to perform complex warehouse operations like loading materials, sorting and inspecting equipment and filling the labour shortages. The new model can work alongside people, while older models needed physical safety barriers to operate.
The Oregon-based startup said it has more than $300 million worth of orders in its multi-year pipeline for Digit 5. Highlighting the labour gap, CEO Peggy Johnson cited a 2024 Deloitte study which said that US manufacturing jobs that couldn’t be filled will grow to 1.9 million by 2033. “I think what will be really interesting to watch is the fact that Digit 5 can be upgraded over the air, so we can teach it new skills. The more data we collect with these additional deployments, the more all of that turns into a flywheel of training.” said Johnson
Agility, employing 400 professionals, expanded its relationship with GXO Logistics Corp. to deploy its robots at more facilities. The company has a plan of ending 2027, with a pipeline of 100 potential customers across various industries such as automotive, retail and pharmaceuticals. It is also working on a manufacturing pilot with AGCO Corp.
