Standard Bots, which claims to be “America’s largest manufacturer of AI-native, industrial robotics”, has raised $200 million Series C led by existing investors and RoboStrategy.
The fundraise values Standard Bots at $1 billion, marking a major milestone for American robotics at a time when US industry is racing to modernize.
The company is also expanding its manufacturing footprint in New York, increasing its ability to design, assemble, and deploy American-made robots at scale for customers ranging from Fortune 100 companies to hundreds of SMB manufacturers across the country.
This expansion comes at a pivotal moment for US manufacturing. When also counting affiliated suppliers and services, the sector accounts for roughly a third of the US economy and a third of American jobs.
For every one manufacturing worker, another five jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy. Manufacturing is how millions of people in this country build a good life, argues Standard Bots.
But for decades, America has shed manufacturing jobs and as a result hollowed out its middle class. We’ve gone from 20 million manufacturing workers in 1979 to only 13 million today.
This is because United States manufacturing is no longer competitive globally. Sourcing from China and other parts of the world is generally 5 to 10 times cheaper.
And it’s not just because of lower labor costs – it’s because of China’s national investment in robotics. Last year, China installed nine times more industrial robots than America, and more than the rest of the world combined.
Standard Bots has deployed AI-native, industrial robots to hundreds of American companies in nearly every state – from generational small businesses in the heartland to some of the country’s largest manufacturers in oil and gas, automotive, aerospace, and data centers.
What they all share is this – and the research shows this – manufacturers become more competitive when they put robots to work. And competitiveness is the key that unlocks company growth, job growth, and wage growth.
Against this backdrop, Standard Bots is expanding its Glen Cove, New York facility to 70,000 square feet to scale its vertically integrated production process amidst rapid growth in demand, and is on pace to deliver 10 percent of new US industrial robot deployments by next year.
Standard Bots is founded on a simple idea: the biggest opportunity in automation is the massive amount of essential work that robots still can’t do.
Its robots are designed to be taught through demonstration and observation rather than traditional coding, making advanced automation more accessible across a broader range of industrial tasks and environments, including customers like Sunoco, Adient, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, NASA, US Army, and hundreds of SMB manufacturers.
Evan Beard, co-founder, CEO and chief engineer of Standard Bots, says: “AI-native robots are the essential power tool of the 21st century – the tool that will grow American manufacturing and help every worker to be a force at work.
“AI will allow industrial robots to do 100x more tasks with full autonomy. You just show your robot how it’s done, and it learns through demonstration. The quickest way to get to full autonomy is through deployments, collecting real-world data, and iterating as fast as possible.
“Standard Bots is the furthest along in that regard with the most vertically integrated, onshore production process, and this new capital just accelerates all of that.”
Standard Bots makes AI-native robot arms and industrial humanoids that require no code to program for fast deployment and ease of maintenance across a range of applications including machining, welding, palletizing, grinding, fastening, dispensing, assembly, inspection, and more – all for a 20-30 percent lower price point than legacy manufacturers.
The company’s product and component designs are 100 percent proprietary after years of research and development, with plans to manufacture virtually everything in-house in America by next year.
Standard Bots is a leading advisor to the White House and Congress on a National Robotics Strategy, including testimonies to the Joint Economic Committee and Subcommittee on Research and Technology.
Key policy recommendations include financial support for American manufacturers to invest in robotics, and a ban on Chinese-made industrial robots and robotics components.
Andrew Kang, CEO at RoboStrategy, an actively managed closed-end fund focused on robotics, says: “Across our portfolio, we’re seeing a clear shift from experimental robotics to systems that can deliver immediate, real-world value.
“Standard Bots stands out because they’ve solved one of the hardest problems in industrial automation: making robots that are not only powerful, but actually usable on the factory floor without specialized programming.
“Their approach to physical AI – teaching robots through demonstration – dramatically expands the range of tasks that can be automated. Combined with their commitment to building and scaling manufacturing in the US, we believe Standard Bots is uniquely positioned to define the next generation of industrial robotics.”
Max Rimpel, partner at General Catalyst, says: “The democratization of robotics is no longer a slogan; it’s happening on factory floors across America.
“For years, robotics’ potential to bring manufacturing back home has been held back by cost and complexity. Evan and the Standard Bots team are helping remove those barriers, giving manufacturers of all sizes access to automation that was once out of reach. We believe they’ll be instrumental in building the next generation of American manufacturing.”
