Humanoid robotics firm Agility goes public in US robot bet
It’s a bet on a market that doesn’t exist yet. The US has its first publicly traded pure-play humanoid robotics firm. It’s a bet on a market that doesn’t exist yet. Agility, which went public on Thursday through a SPAC merger, is among a group of US humanoid makers that want to automate the world’s factories and compete with China’s fast-growing sector. China’s Unitree, which sells robots for much less than American rivals, listed in Shanghai in August and has since seen its value fall, as investors question whether actual demand matches the hype. “Challenging market out there, but we’re well capitalized,” Agility CEO Peggy Johnson told Semafor. The merger valued the company at about $2.5 billion, and it has $300 million in orders for its newest robot, though they come from a single (undisclosed) customer. Agility puts a big focus on safety, and for good reason: Humanoids currently can’t operate in a factory unless they’re behind physical barriers, because insurers won’t cover them without third-party certification. Its latest model, Digit 5, is designed to work in proximity to people and could be certified next year. Still, Agility and the broader industry will have to figure out
It’s a bet on a market that doesn’t exist yet. The US has its first publicly traded pure-play humanoid robotics firm. It’s a bet on a market that doesn’t exist yet. Agility, which went public on Thursday through a SPAC merger, is among a group of US humanoid makers that want to automate the world’s factories and compete with China’s fast-growing sector.
China’s Unitree, which sells robots for much less than American rivals, listed in Shanghai in August and has since seen its value fall, as investors question whether actual demand matches the hype. “Challenging market out there, but we’re well capitalized,” Agility CEO Peggy Johnson told Semafor. The merger valued the company at about $2.5 billion, and it has $300 million in orders for its newest robot, though they come from a single (undisclosed) customer. Agility puts a big focus on safety, and for good reason: Humanoids currently can’t operate in a factory unless they’re behind physical barriers, because insurers won’t cover them without third-party certification.
Its latest model, Digit 5, is designed to work in proximity to people and could be certified next year. Still, Agility and the broader industry will have to figure out whether a robot that’s safe enough is also nimble enough to be worth it: The company’s chief robot officer wrote last month that while he thinks the trade-off is necessary, “Digit 5 feels more like a forklift than the graceful humanoid I set out to build,” adding: “ I cannot love Digit 5.”