Standard Bots has raised $200 million in a Series C funding round that values the robotics company at $1 billion.
The round comes as the manufacturer looks to accelerate production of AI-driven industrial automation systems.
RoboStrategy, a robotics-focused fund, led the effort alongside General Catalyst.
The New York-based company develops AI-native robot arms and humanoid systems designed to operate without traditional programming. Instead of requiring coded instructions, Standard Bots says its machines can be trained through demonstration and observation. This shift, it argues, could significantly shorten deployment times and reduce operational complexity on factory floors.
The company targets a wide range of industrial applications, including machining, welding, palletizing, grinding, fastening, dispensing, assembly, and inspection.
Standard Bots said its approach is intended to expand the use of robotics across manufacturers that lack specialized automation engineers, positioning its systems as adaptable "general-purpose" tools for production environments.
Its customer base spans major corporations and government entities, including Sunoco (NYSE:SUN), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), NASA, and the U.S. Army, along with hundreds of small and mid-sized manufacturers.
Co-founder and CEO Evan Beard said AI-native robotics represents a step-change in industrial productivity.
"AI-native robots are the essential power tool of the 21st century — the tool that will grow American manufacturing and help every worker be a force at work," Beard said in a prepared statement. He added that AI will enable industrial robots to perform "100x more tasks with full autonomy."
The company is also expanding its manufacturing footprint as it ramps production capacity, including the expansion of its Glen Cove facility to 70,000 square feet. Standard Bots said it expects to account for roughly 10% of new U.S. industrial robot deployments by next year, citing rising demand as it scales a vertically integrated manufacturing model.
Investors backing the round said the company is moving robotics beyond experimentation and into practical deployment at scale.
"Across our portfolio, we're seeing a clear shift from experimental robotics to systems that can deliver immediate, real-world value," said Andrew Kang, CEO of RoboStrategy, an actively managed closed-end fund focused on robotics. "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."
Max Rimpel, a partner at General Catalyst, said the company is helping remove longstanding barriers to adoption in manufacturing.
"For years, robotics' potential to bring manufacturing back home has been held back by cost and complexity," Rimpel said. "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."
Beard co-founded Standard Bots in 2011 with serial entrepreneur David Golden and James Cordle. In addition to General Catalyst and RoboStrategy, Standard Bots also received capital from Amazon, Samsung Next, Box Group, and GiantLeap Capital.
The company has also engaged in discussions with U.S. policymakers on a national robotics strategy, including providing input to the White House and Congress. Its proposals include incentives to encourage domestic adoption of robotics and potential restrictions on Chinese-made industrial robots and components.
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