KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): So far, 2024 is shaping up as a not-so-shabby year for robotics start-up funding.

In a report on Thursday, Crunchbase, which tracks trends, investments and news of global companies from start-ups to the Fortune 1000, said developers of workplace robots, robotic surgery technologies, and even humanoid models had all raised large rounds in the past six months.

It said the artificial intelligence (AI) funding boom had also helped boost the space, with investors backing big deals at the intersection of AI and robotics.

Altogether, robotics start-ups have pulled in over US$4.2 billion (RM19.83 billion) in seed through growth-stage financing this year.

Per Crunchbase data, workplace robotics still account for the largest number of rounds, with start-ups looking to offset the need for human labour for tasks like delivering meals, pulling weeds, and moving stuff in warehouses.

Among the largest recipients in this vein is San Francisco-based Bright Machines, a developer of software and robotics technology for factory manufacturing.

The company raised US$106 million in Series C funding, plus US$20 million in debt, in a BlackRock-led financing announced on Tuesday.

Another big round went to Silicon Valley-based Collaborative Robotics, which landed a US$100 million General Catalyst-led Series B this spring.

Its business model centres on building “cobots” or robots that can work alongside humans doing tasks like carrying boxes and moving industrial carts.

Crunchbase said there were also large investments in start-ups developing humanoid robots — a staple of science fiction that had yet to penetrate everyday reality.

Sunnyvale, California-based Figure, which describes itself as an “AI robotics company bringing a general-purpose humanoid to life”, was the biggest draw here, snapping up US$675 million in a February Series B.

It drew heavy interest from corporate investors, with Nvidia, Microsoft and Amazon among its backers.

1X, a start-up with dual headquarters in Norway and Silicon Valley, picked up US$98 million in January to further development of its initial humanoid models.

This includes NEO, whose human-like body is engineered with muscle-like anatomy, and EVE, a robot which resembles a human, but with wheels instead of feet.

Surgical robotics has also been a major area for robot-related start-up investment over the years, and 2024 is no exception.

The biggest round went to MMI, a developer of technology for robotic-assisted microsurgical procedures that raised US$110 million in a February Series C led by Fidelity.

The company says its technology lets surgeons replicate movements of the human hand at the micro scale, and can expand treatment options for patients needing soft tissue, open surgical procedures.

Most recently, Shanghai-based Ronovo Surgical raised US$44 million in a Series B financing announced this month. The company is developing a robotic-assisted system for laparoscopic surgeries.