RoboForce raises $52m to scale physical AI robots for industrial labour

RoboForce has secured $52 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by YZi Labs, bringing total capital raised to $67 million. The investment will support development of the company's robot foundation model and manufacturing readiness for deploying physical AI robots across solar, data center, mining, and logistics sectors.

Physical AI robotics company RoboForce has announced the closing of a $52 million funding round, with participation from returning and new investors including YZi Labs, Jerry Yang, Nobel laureate economist Myron Scholes, and Carnegie Mellon University. The round brings the company's total funding to $67 million since inception.

Proceeds will be directed toward advancing its next-generation robot foundation model, scaling production of general-purpose physical AI robots, and achieving manufacturing readiness for commercial deployment. The company focuses on developing robotic labour solutions for physically demanding, repetitive, and safety-critical tasks across industrial environments.

Target applications include utility-scale solar installation and maintenance, data centre operations, mining, shipping, manufacturing, and logistics, sectors facing persistent labour shortages for high-risk work. RoboForce is a US-based robotics company developing physical AI systems designed to automate hazardous industrial tasks.

The investment signals growing investor conviction in physical AI applications beyond manufacturing floors, particularly in outdoor and infrastructure-heavy sectors where labour constraints are acute.

For industrial operators, the development points to emerging alternatives for addressing workforce gaps in remote or dangerous settings. For investors, the round demonstrates sustained appetite for robotics companies targeting total addressable markets beyond traditional factory automation, including renewable energy infrastructure and critical supply chain operations.