Robotics startup Generalist AI in talks for $3B funding round led by 8VC

Published Jul 29, 05:06 PM UTC

Robotics startup Generalist AI is in discussions with investors to raise a new funding round at a $3 billion valuation, with venture firm 8VC expected to lead the round. This follows a $400 million raise just one month ago at a $2 billion valuation, led by Radical Ventures with participation from 8VC, Union Square Ventures, Nvidia, and Bezos Expeditions. The company, founded in 2024 by former Google DeepMind robotics researchers Pete Florence and Andy Zeng and ex-Boston Dynamics roboticist Andrew Barry, develops AI 'brains' for robots rather than building hardware. Its GEN-1 model teaches robots basic physical tasks like folding laundry and mixing ingredients. Generalist competes in the 'physical AI' space against startups such as Physical Intelligence ($11B+ valuation), Skild AI ($14B+), Field AI ($2B), and Genesis AI (also in talks at $3B). Angel investors include Xiaomi cofounder Bin Lin, Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li, and AngelList cofounder Naval Ravikant.