Softbank to invest $500 million in robotics startup Skild AI

Softbank is negotiating a $500 million investment in Skild AI, a software company building a financial model at a $4 billion valuation.

Skild AI builds general-purpose robotic intelligence using cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to create adaptable robots that function across different environments, from construction sites to factories and homes. Skild AI claims its “Skild Brain” is the first scalable robotics foundation model, capable of adapting across hardware and tasks.

The company was co-founded by University of Maryland alum Abhinav Gupta (Ph.D. '09, computer science) and Deepak Pathak, both IIT-Kanpur graduates and professors at Carnegie Mellon University. Gupta previously worked alongside Pathak as a researcher at Meta-owned Facebook before launching the startup.

Founded in 2023, the startup raised $300 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in July 2024 from investors including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Coatue Management.

The company’s AI model can be applied to various types of robots, Pathak and Gupta told TechCrunch in 2024. They said the generalized model can be modified for specific domains and use cases.

Investor interest in AI-driven robotics has surged in recent years. Skild AI faces competition in the space, including from its own investor—Bezos has increased his funding for AI-based robotics startups.

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