Robotics startup Genesis AI is in discussions to raise around $500 million in a new funding round, according to a report by Startup Fortune. The financing comes as venture capital investors increasingly shift their attention from conventional software to physical AI — systems that can understand and act in the real world.
The proposed round could give Genesis AI substantial capital to expand its robotics foundation models, data infrastructure and hardware development. The company has not finalised the financing, and the size and terms of the round could still change.
Genesis AI previously raised a $105 million seed round to develop foundational AI models for robotics. The startup has since shifted its focus from software and started using a full-stack approach incorporating models, data, and robotic hardware.
In May, Genesis AI launched GENE-26.5, which is a robotic foundation model that would help robots accomplish complex physical tasks. This foundation model was accompanied by a dexterous robotic hand and a data engine meant for the production of training data.
This is part of a trend that recognizes the fact that better hardware alone will not solve the problem. What developers really need is AI models capable of interpreting environments and executing tasks.
Genesis AI’s reported fundraising talks come as investors place larger bets on the software layer behind robotics. Firms are trying to design general-purpose models that could be used on any kind of machine and in any kind of environment.
The solution would minimize the need to train robots separately for each action performed. Yet the task is not an easy one because robots have to work in dynamic environments where mistakes can cost dearly.
The full-stack approach pursued by Genesis AI aims to solve this problem by controlling more pieces of the tech stack. The company's new models and hardware developments suggest the desire to design an end-to-end system instead of just offering software solutions.
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