Key Takeaways
- • Agile Robots completed a $500 million financing round at an $8.5 billion valuation (approx. RMB 56.688 billion), according to Bloomberg, led by SoftBank Group with participation from NVIDIA, Hitachi, and T.Capital.
- • The funds will be used to expand in the US and other markets and enhance manufacturing capabilities.
- • Founder and CEO Zhao Peng Chen is a joint PhD candidate between Harbin Institute of Technology and the German Aerospace Center (DLR); the company is headquartered in Munich and Beijing.
- • Agile Robots has raised funds in eight rounds, with cumulative financing reportedly around $2 billion (approx. RMB 13.338 billion), per Xinou Data.
- • The company is the second robotics firm founded by Chinese nationals to receive NVIDIA investment, following Dyna Robotics.
Summary
Agile Robots has completed a $500 million financing round at an $8.5 billion valuation (approx. RMB 56.688 billion), Bloomberg reported. SoftBank Group led the round, with participation from NVIDIA, Hitachi, and T.Capital. The company said the proceeds will fund expansion in the United States and other markets and strengthen its manufacturing capabilities.
The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and Beijing, China. Founder and CEO Zhao Peng Chen is a joint PhD candidate between Harbin Institute of Technology and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He previously served as deputy director of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics laboratory and co-founded Agile Robots with Peter Meusel in 2018. Earlier seed backing came from Hillhouse Capital and Linear Capital, with angel investment from Sequoia China Seed Fund.
According to Xinou Data, Agile Robots has raised funds in eight rounds, with investors including SoftBank, Abu Dhabi entities, Hillhouse Venture Capital, Sequoia China, Linear Capital, Xiaomi, and Foxconn Industrial Internet. Cumulative financing is reportedly around $2 billion. SoftBank led a $220 million Series C in September 2021, when the company's valuation exceeded $1 billion. In June of the current year, reports indicated SoftBank intended to invest over $300 million in an $800 million round, though those negotiations were at an early stage.
The company began with force-controlled robotic arms and industrial automation and has since expanded into mobile robots, collaborative robots, embodied AI software, and humanoid robots. In April 2026, Zhao Peng Chen led the acquisition of ThyssenKrupp Automation Engineering GmbH, adding whole-line integration capabilities. The company reports more than 20,000 robotic solutions deployed globally and over 3,500 employees, with clients including Foxconn, BMW, Volkswagen, and Xiaomi.
NVIDIA has increased its robotics exposure, having previously invested in Figure AI, Skild AI, Dyna Robotics, and MeckaAI. In October, at the InvestinGermany summit in Berlin, Jensen Huang announced plans to invest in four German startups, including Agile Robots, as part of nearly $10 billion in commitments to European companies, universities, and research institutions. Agile Robots also released the Agile ONE SN, a reference humanoid platform, at NVIDIA GTC Berlin on October 21.
The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and Beijing, China. Founder and CEO Zhao Peng Chen is a joint PhD candidate between Harbin Institute of Technology and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He previously served as deputy director of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics laboratory and co-founded Agile Robots with Peter Meusel in 2018. Earlier seed backing came from Hillhouse Capital and Linear Capital, with angel investment from Sequoia China Seed Fund.
According to Xinou Data, Agile Robots has raised funds in eight rounds, with investors including SoftBank, Abu Dhabi entities, Hillhouse Venture Capital, Sequoia China, Linear Capital, Xiaomi, and Foxconn Industrial Internet. Cumulative financing is reportedly around $2 billion. SoftBank led a $220 million Series C in September 2021, when the company's valuation exceeded $1 billion. In June of the current year, reports indicated SoftBank intended to invest over $300 million in an $800 million round, though those negotiations were at an early stage.
The company began with force-controlled robotic arms and industrial automation and has since expanded into mobile robots, collaborative robots, embodied AI software, and humanoid robots. In April 2026, Zhao Peng Chen led the acquisition of ThyssenKrupp Automation Engineering GmbH, adding whole-line integration capabilities. The company reports more than 20,000 robotic solutions deployed globally and over 3,500 employees, with clients including Foxconn, BMW, Volkswagen, and Xiaomi.
NVIDIA has increased its robotics exposure, having previously invested in Figure AI, Skild AI, Dyna Robotics, and MeckaAI. In October, at the InvestinGermany summit in Berlin, Jensen Huang announced plans to invest in four German startups, including Agile Robots, as part of nearly $10 billion in commitments to European companies, universities, and research institutions. Agile Robots also released the Agile ONE SN, a reference humanoid platform, at NVIDIA GTC Berlin on October 21.
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