Inventor Dean Kamen and Cybernetix Ventures’ Mark Martin at Robotics Invest 2024. Source: The Robot Report
Venture capital funds are continuing to invest in robotics and automation startups, especially if there is an artificial intelligence angle. Cybernetix Ventures today announced its second fund “to fuel the next generation of breakthrough solutions for industries where innovation matters most.”
The new $100 million fund will build on the success of the firm’s current fund. It has made 23 investments in early-stage companies across the U.S. and Europe developing systems for vertical markets including manufacturing, logistics, construction, agriculture, climate, and healthcare.
“Cybernetix was designed from the ground up to serve one purpose: backing the world’s most promising robotics startups with the insight, capital, and network they need to scale,” said Mark Martin, general partner at Cybernetix. “We’ve built one of the most targeted and efficient investment models in the robotics sector today.”
“If you believe in the long-term power of the robotics megatrend, and you understand that the highest returns come from getting in early, Cybernetix is the firm to watch,” he asserted. “Our conviction is deep, our lens is precise, and our track record speaks to the strength of this category when approached with discipline and domain focus.”
Martin and Fady Saad are co-founders of Cybernetix Ventures and said they have 50 years of combined experience in robotics technologies, operations, and investing. The Boston-based company recently debuted its Robotics Startup Playbook to explain to founders and investors how to successfully navigate this investment class.
Cybernetix Ventures sees startups grow
With approximately 1,200 deal-flow opportunities per year, Cybernetix Ventures claimed that it has built an investment portfolio of leading robotics and physical AI startups. They include:
- Raise Robotics, which helps workers with challenging tasks on construction sites to make jobs safer and improve productivity
- Rugged Robotics, which uses automation and robotics to automate facilities such as warehouses, data centers, and construction sites
- Airworks, which uses geospatial surveying for large scale infrastructure
Cybernetix added that it has seen significant markups in valuations as many of its portfolio companies have moved through their funding rounds. The global market for AI-enabled robotics was valued at approximately $12.77 billion in 2023 and is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.5%, reaching around $124.77 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
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New fund to expand into robotics ecosystem
Cybernetix Ventures said its new fund will expand into agriculture and climate. The firm is adding Mark DeSantis, an expert in agricultural robotics, to its advisory roster, which includes technology and business experts from iRobot, Kiva Systems/Amazon Robotics, Flagship Ventures, Locus Robotics, Tufts University, and Cummings Foundation.
As part of its ecosystem approach, Cybernetix will be holding its third Robotics Invest event next week in Boston. It expects about 300 attendees, with speakers from Clearpath Robotics by Rockwell Automation, Dexterity, The Wall Street Journal, Re:Build Manufacturing, and investment banks including JP Morgan and Evercore. Panel discussions will include “The 5 W’s of Investing in Robotics (including Humanoids)” and “Why Investing in Robotics is Different from SaaS and Deep Tech.”
“We’ve been evangelizing the inevitable potential of intelligent machines for over a decade, and the emergence of physical AI has finally made once-theoretical use cases commercially viable,” stated Saad, general partner at Cybernetix. “Robotics is no longer a fringe interest; it’s a distinct, nuanced asset class with unique dynamics. In today’s venture environment, investors are increasingly paying higher prices for early-stage exposure, often without the operational insight to manage the associated risk.”
“At Cybernetix, we’re purpose-built for this moment,” he added. “Our deep sector expertise, active corporate partnerships, and intimate understanding of the ecosystem allow us to underwrite risk more intelligently and unlock real value where others simply speculate.”
The AI Institute’s Marc Raibert and Cybernetix Ventures’ Fady Saad at Robotics Invest 2024. Source: The Robot Report