Q3 robot startup funding surges 185% to $9.9 billion, with China and the US leading physical AI growth.

ChainCatcher report, according to Crunchbase data, global venture investment in robotics startups reached $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026, more than doubling from $4.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025, representing a year-over-year increase of approximately 185%. Funding in the robotics sector for the first three quarters of 2026 rose by about 185% year-over-year, remaining near or above $10 billion for multiple consecutive quarters. This year, the majority of robotics funding was concentrated in China and the United States, with China receiving $13.2 billion and the United States receiving $12.1 billion, followed by Germany at $1.7 billion. Major Chinese investments include $900 million for Guangzhou Xpeng Robotics and $736 million in Series C funding for Shenzhen AI² Robotics. In the United States, Travis Kalanick’s Atoms and Pittsburgh-based Skild AI both completed billion-dollar funding rounds, with Skild AI raising $1.4 billion for its robotics foundation model, Skild Brain. Germany’s Neura Robotics raised $1.4 billion for cognitive robotics.