RoboForce raises $52M for industrial robotics deployment
Robotics startup RoboForce Inc. closed a $52 million funding round on March 16 to accelerate development of physical AI robots for industrial labor. The company, founded in 2023, builds systems designed to handle physically demanding and repetitive work in manufacturing, warehousing, mining and other industrial settings.
The funding round was led by YZi Labs and included investors Jerry Yang (co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo), economist Myron Scholes, Gary Rieschel of Qiming Venture Partners, and Carnegie Mellon University. The new capital brings RoboForce's total raised to $67 million.
How the platform works
RoboForce's approach combines robotic hardware, machine learning models and simulation environments. The company built its system around a robot foundation model trained on both real-world operational data and synthetic datasets generated in simulation.
The platform uses Nvidia's Jetson Thor edge processors for onboard inference and the Isaac simulation environment for testing robotic actions before physical deployment. Deployed robots collect operational telemetry and task performance data, which feeds back into training systems to improve motion control and task sequencing.
Target applications
RoboForce is positioning its robots for work in utility-scale solar installations, data center maintenance, mining operations, shipping yards, manufacturing facilities and warehouse logistics. The systems are designed for tasks that are repetitive, hazardous or difficult to staff with human workers.
CEO Leo Ma said the company aims to move humans into safer, higher-value roles while robots handle the most demanding industrial tasks. "This problem centers on human workers' availability, cost and safety and its impact spans across most critical industrial sectors," Ma said.
For IT and development professionals building or integrating robotics systems, understanding AI Agents & Automation and AI for IT & Development provides relevant context for how these physical systems operate within broader infrastructure.
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