Summary
- Tether is spearheading a Series C funding round for NEURA Robotics, potentially raising up to $1.4 billion, marking a significant investment in humanoid robotics.
- In addition to financial backing, Tether plans to incorporate its cryptocurrency wallet technology and edge AI capabilities into NEURA's robots.
- Other prominent contributors to this funding round include Nvidia, Amazon, Qualcomm, and Bosch.
Tether, the firm behind the leading stablecoin, USDT, revealed on Wednesday that it has led a financing initiative of up to $1.4 billion for NEURA Robotics, a humanoid robotics company based in Germany. This investment is noted as one of the largest private funding rounds in the realms of physical AI and humanoid robotics.
Established in 2019 and located in Metzingen, Germany, NEURA Robotics is focused on creating a diverse range of robotic systems, which include humanoids, precise robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots, and service robots intended for collaborative environments where humans and machines coexist.
Joining Tether in this funding round are prominent investors such as Nvidia, Amazon, Qualcomm Technologies, Bosch, imec.xpand, Schaeffler, the European Investment Bank, Lingotto Horizon, and InterAlpen Partners.
“The future of AI will not only live on screens,” stated David Reger, founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics. “It will move, interact, learn and work beside us in the real world. We believe physical AI and cognitive robotics will become one of the largest technology shifts of the coming decades, transforming industries ranging from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare, services, and household robotics.”
In addition to the financial investment, Tether is set to integrate several of its key technologies within NEURA's framework. This includes the open-source wallet development kit (WDK), which will enable self-custodial wallet functions directly within the robotic systems, allowing machines to accept payments for completed tasks and perform transactions according to specified operational rules—effectively incorporating financial transactions into their operational processes.
Tether will also incorporate its QVAC edge AI runtime into NEURA's Neuraverse software. QVAC allows AI models to operate locally on devices instead of depending on remote cloud computing, which minimizes latency, enhances operational reliability, and reduces reliance on large centralized computing resources—an essential feature in industrial settings where precision and uptime are critical.
“As robotics evolves from scripted automation to genuine autonomy, the supporting infrastructure must advance as well,” commented Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. “Autonomous machines require the capability to process data locally, make decisions, and conduct transactions without depending on centralized intermediaries.”
“QVAC provides that edge-centric intelligence to the platform while WDK manages the secure financial aspect, enabling machines to perform tasks, assess results, and function independently,” he continued. “NEURA Robotics aligns with this vision, and this investment demonstrates our belief in the future of autonomous robotics.”