Investments in robotics are gaining pace following the post-pandemic slowdown

New figures from Crunchbase this week show investments in robotics again in a positive direction. The previous two years saw a steady decline in overall numbers, following a record high in 2021 due to pandemic-induced job losses. As we enter the second half of the year, 2024 is on track to beat last year’s numbers.

In the first six months of the year, $4.2 billion was invested in this category, putting this year on track to beat 2023’s 12-month total of $6.8 billion. This number is still well below 2021’s COVID peak, which brought in $17.7 billion, and even 2022’s $10.3 billion.

However, this does indicate a recovery after the one-two punch of economic headwinds and post-pandemic reopenings that brought the industry crashing back down to earth.

The white-hot humanoid category continued to gain popularity. Figure led the way with a massive $675 million Series B. That increase alone moved the needle a bit. The other notable humanoid investment came via 1X. The Norwegian company, which considers OpenAI an early backer, raised a healthy $100 million.

Medical robots are having a good year, thanks to big rounds from MMI and Rono Surgical, but once again labor replacement is the biggest driver as spaces like warehouses and factories look to automate jobs they’re struggling to fill.

These demands aren’t going away anytime soon, while the continued investment excitement around all things AI is likely to further fuel the growth of robot startups. Unfortunately, it may take another pandemic for the situation to reach 2021 levels.