Investment in robotics is projected to reach an all-time high of $21 billion this year, according to F-Prime Capital’s latest State of Robotics 2025 report – a jump fuelled by generative AI, defense spending, and merger-and-acquisition activity.
The report, which tracks venture funding, valuations, and exits across the global robotics sector, highlights a 150 percent increase in funding for so-called “general purpose robotics” – a category covering humanoids and AI-driven machines – rising from $2 billion in 2024 to $5 billion this year.
Defense robotics now accounts for 63 percent of total investment, helped by multi-billion-dollar deals such as Blue Halo’s $4.1 billion acquisition.
Private valuations are also surging. F-Prime says enterprise values of robotics “unicorns” have grown 70 percent since 2024, with humanoid robot maker Figure AI reportedly worth $39 billion and Field AI reaching $2 billion.
Public robotics companies in both the US and China have seen similar market-cap growth of 60 to 120 percent year-on-year.
However, the report’s focus on investor returns rather than sales or revenue performance suggests a familiar pattern – fast-rising valuations detached from real-world demand.
While funding and acquisitions are climbing, few data points show proportional increases in robot shipments or commercial adoption.
For now, the robotics investment boom looks like another speculative surge driven by hype around AI and automation. Whether this capital will translate into sustainable earnings – or mark the peak of a smaller “robotics bubble” – remains to be seen.
