This week in physical AI

1. Seed funding round · Terra Industries

   Seed raising $52000000

   2026-08-17
2. Series A funding round · Gravis Robotics

   Series A raising $200000000

   2026-08-17
3. Series A / A+ funding round · Infiforce

   Series A / A+ raising $150000000

   2026-08-15
4. IPO (priced) funding round · Unitree Robotics

   IPO (priced) raising $900000000

   2026-08-14
5. Seed extension funding round · Terra Industries

   Seed extension raising $52000000

   2026-08-12
6. Strategic funding round · GAC Group

   Strategic

   2026-08-12
7. Seed funding round · TetraGen Robotics

   Seed raising $1300000

   2026-08-11
8. Series C funding round · Neros

   Series C raising $250000000

   2026-08-11
9. Series C funding round · Neros Technologies

   Series C raising $250000000

   2026-08-11
10. Seed funding round · Alloy Robotics

    Seed raising $8000000

    2026-08-11
11. Series C funding round · Cambridge Aerospace

    Series C raising $300000000

    2026-08-10
12. Series D funding round · Hadrian

    Series D raising $1370000000

    2026-08-06

1. Cloverleaf Infrastructure x NVIDIA (Data Center Infrastructure) · Cloverleaf Infrastructure

   Cloverleaf Infrastructure formed a strategic partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate data center infrastructure development. NVIDIA also acquired a minority stake in Cloverleaf. Cloverleaf acts as a middleman between utility companies and data centers providing power sources and infrastructure for site development.

   2026-08-21
2. Einride x Tesla Semi fleet deal · Tesla

   Einride plans to purchase 500 Tesla Semi electric trucks over 24 months starting September 2026, tripling its fleet to ~700 trucks. The Semis will be managed through Einride's Saga AI fleet management platform and made available to customers across North America including Amazon, Heineken, and PepsiCo. Einride is using third-party financing for the purchase.

   2026-08-18
3. Einride x Tesla Semi fleet deal · Einride

   Einride plans to purchase 500 Tesla Semi electric trucks over 24 months starting September 2026, tripling its fleet to ~700 trucks. The Semis will be managed through Einride's Saga AI fleet management platform and made available to customers across North America including Amazon, Heineken, and PepsiCo. Einride is using third-party financing for the purchase.

   2026-08-18
4. Gravis Robotics x Flannery Plant Hire (CAM Pathfinder) · Gravis Robotics

   $8M UK government-backed CAM Pathfinder project. Gravis Robotics and Flannery Plant Hire (UK's largest operated heavy-equipment rental provider) retrofit excavator fleets with Gravis Rack, giving contractors turnkey on-demand access to autonomous machinery to help accelerate Britain's $716B infrastructure pipeline.

   2026-08-17
5. Serve Robotics x Grubhub (Wonder) · Serve Robotics

   Serve Robotics partnered with Grubhub, a subsidiary of Wonder, to bring Serve robot delivery to the Grubhub marketplace in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Alexandria. Grubhub becomes the latest major delivery platform on Serve's network. The launch also includes Chomp, a talking food delivery robot character created by Serve Advertising.

   2026-08-17
6. Joby Aviation acquires Resonant Sciences for 00M · Joby Aviation

   Joby Aviation acquired Resonant Sciences, a maker of radio frequency and sensor systems, for 00 million. Resonant will become a dedicated defense business under Joby called Joby Defense, marking Joby's push into the defense sector alongside its eVTOL air taxi certification efforts.

   2026-08-16
7. Archer Aviation acquires Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu from Boeing · Boeing

   Boeing agreed to sell Wisk Aero, SkyGrid (airspace management software), and Insitu (drone maker) to Archer Aviation in exchange for a 16.5% ownership stake in Archer. The deal consolidates two rival eVTOL developers and ends a complex history that began with Wisk's 2021 IP theft lawsuit against Archer, which was settled in 2023 with a collaboration agreement.

   2026-08-16
8. Archer Aviation acquires Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu from Boeing · Wisk Aero

   Boeing agreed to sell Wisk Aero, SkyGrid (airspace management software), and Insitu (drone maker) to Archer Aviation in exchange for a 16.5% ownership stake in Archer. The deal consolidates two rival eVTOL developers and ends a complex history that began with Wisk's 2021 IP theft lawsuit against Archer, which was settled in 2023 with a collaboration agreement.

   2026-08-16
9. Archer Aviation acquires Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu from Boeing · Archer Aviation

   Boeing agreed to sell Wisk Aero, SkyGrid (airspace management software), and Insitu (drone maker) to Archer Aviation in exchange for a 16.5% ownership stake in Archer. The deal consolidates two rival eVTOL developers and ends a complex history that began with Wisk's 2021 IP theft lawsuit against Archer, which was settled in 2023 with a collaboration agreement.

   2026-08-16
10. Infiforce x CRRC High-Tech · Infiforce

    Infiforce is working with CRRC High-Tech on embodied intelligence for infrastructure applications. The collaboration was mentioned in Infiforce's August 2026 funding announcement.

    2026-08-15
11. NVIDIA x LG Electronics (Cloid Home Robot GR00T) · NVIDIA

    NVIDIA and LG Electronics signed an agreement on August 13, 2026 to build an AI-powered humanoid robot. LG's Cloid home robot uses NVIDIA Isaac GR00T for AI-driven household tasks. LG unveiled the robot at CES 2026 as part of its Zero Labor Home vision.

    2026-08-13
12. Waymo x Las Vegas Raiders (Allegiant Stadium) · Waymo

    The Las Vegas Raiders named Waymo their Official Ride-Hailing Partner in a multi-year deal, the first partnership between a professional football team and an autonomous vehicle company, providing dedicated Waymo pickup/drop-off zones at Allegiant Stadium for all games, concerts, and major events.

    2026-08-13

No acquisitions in the window.

No key hires recorded.

1. Space station startup Vast cuts 4% of employees, saying they did not meet expectations in review cycle · Vast Space

   Vast Space fired 46 employees (4% of workforce) as part of a mid-year review cycle, calling the cuts performance-related. The company raised $500M earlier in 2026 and still has 277 open roles. Founded by Jed McCaleb in 2021, Vast plans to launch Haven-1 in 2027 on SpaceX and Haven-2 (ISS replacement) by 2028.

   2026-08-21
2. Waymo hands over documents in NHTSA’s child collision probe · Waymo

   The responses to NHTSA's questions so far are redacted entirely, citing "confidential business information."

   2026-08-21
3. X Square Robot Demonstrates Embodied AI in Real-World Logistics Operations · X Square Robot

   X Square Robot livestreamed its WALL-B embodied AI model and self-developed 6-axis robot arm sorting 10,000 parcels in 5 hours 14 minutes (1.88 sec/parcel, ~35% faster than Figure's reported 2.88 sec/parcel), with over 98% accuracy in a real logistics workflow.

   2026-08-13