WillItSurvive
Robotics and industrial automation · Germany

Agile Robots AG

agile-robots.com ↗

German-Chinese maker of AI-driven robotic arms, spun off from DLR, now building humanoids.

Losing its protection
Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026
The structural protection is eroding.
On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Outcome of the roughly 800M dollar SoftBank-anchored funding round
The call

Agile Robots has real factory customers and revenue, but its humanoid push now runs straight into SoftBank money on both sides of the table.

Agile Robots makes custom robotic arms and hands for factories, with real customers like BMW and Foxconn who rely on their products. It is hard to copy because they inherited special engineering knowledge from a German research institute and have deep relationships with major manufacturers, but the giant robotics companies like ABB, FANUC, and KUKA now have the money and scale to build similar products, and smaller well-funded humanoid startups like Figure AI are trying to disrupt the whole industry with robots that look human. The company's bet on making humanoid robots (human-shaped machines) could drain resources and capital away from the industrial robotics business where it actually has an edge, especially since the funding war with those well-financed rivals may be impossible to win.

Why
01
AI pressure: Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics model, also licensed to Figure, Agility, and Boston Dynamics. Agile uses Gemini Robotics itself, but the same model powers rivals, cutting any edge from having smarter software alone. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: ABB, FANUC, KUKA, Yaskawa, Universal Robots, all now facing a SoftBank-backed ABB robotics push. Established arm makers already sell into Agile's factories; SoftBank owning both Agile and ABB muddies who it actually backs. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Real revenue near 200M euros, sticky BMW/Foxconn/thyssenkrupp accounts, and DLR-derived hardware IP built over years.
What would change this call
Whether the ~$800M SoftBank-anchored round closes, stalls, or resizes in 2026. Shows if Agile can fund its humanoid ambitions or must retreat to its industrial core.
Whether Agile ONE lands two named production deployments outside BMW by end-2026. Shows if Agile's humanoid line can win customers beyond its anchor client.
Whether SoftBank publicly favors ABB robotics over Agile in joint customer bids. Would show SoftBank folding Agile into ABB unfavorably rather than backing both.
Key numbers
  • Revenue about 200M euros, doubling yearly for 4 years (2024)
  • Series C: 220M dollars, valuation over 1B dollars (2021-09)
  • SoftBank in talks to anchor ~800M dollar round (2026-06-03)
Named risks
  • SoftBank simultaneously owns stakes in Agile Robots and ABB's robotics unit, creating conflicted capital allocation. Severity: high
  • Rumored $800M funding round remains unconfirmed as of June 2026 and could stall or be resized. Severity: high
  • Better-funded humanoid rivals (Figure, Apptronik, Agility) may lock automotive channel deployments before Agile ONE scales. Severity: high
  • Shared reliance on Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics with competing hardware makers risks commoditizing software differentiation. Severity: medium
  • German-Chinese ownership structure faces potential EU/German FDI screening scrutiny, precedent set by the Kuka case. Severity: low
Rivals, as read in July 2026
RivalDirectionEvidence
ABBlosing toSoftBank secured $1.75B loan for $5.4B ABB robotics buy, July 22, 2026, creating conflicted SoftBank incentives
Figure AIlosing toFigure deployed humanoid at BMW Spartanburg by June 30, 2026, at $39B valuation versus Agile's unconfirmed $800M round
Agility RoboticscontestingWent public via SPAC at ~$2.5B valuation on July 5, 2026, gaining public capital access Agile lacks
ApptronikcontestingRaised $935M at $5.5B+ valuation by June 2026, far outpacing Agile's talks-stage round
KUKA and Universal Robotsgaining onEstablished cobot/arm incumbents matching Agile's core industrial robotics offering without licensing barriers
Neura RoboticscontestingReportedly raised approx 1 billion euros from Tether at ~4 billion euro valuation, per 2026 reporting
Questions people ask
Is Agile Robots profitable in 2026?
No profitability figure has been disclosed. Agile Robots states revenue roughly doubled annually for four years, reaching about €200 million in 2024, but no net income or margin data has been published as of mid 2026.
Who owns Agile Robots AG?
Agile Robots (now legally Agile Robots SE since March 2024) is privately held. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led its $220 million Series C in September 2021, and as of June 2026 SoftBank was reportedly in early talks to anchor a new ~$800 million round.
Could AI replace Agile Robots' technology?
Unlikely to fully replace it. Agile Robots integrates Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics (partnership announced March 24, 2026) as an ingredient, but keeps proprietary DLR-derived force-torque hardware, in-house manufacturing, and customer integrations like BMW and Foxconn as its moat.
Who is Agile Robots' biggest competitor?
In industrial robotics, ABB (now being acquired by SoftBank for $5.4 billion, secured with a $1.75 billion loan on July 22, 2026) is a major threat. In humanoids, Figure AI ($39 billion valuation, deployed at BMW Spartanburg by June 30, 2026) and Apptronik ($5.5 billion+) are outspending Agile Robots.
What is Agile ONE and when does it ship?
Agile ONE is Agile Robots' first humanoid robot for industrial settings, launched November 19, 2025, manufactured in-house in Bavaria, with mass production targeted for early 2026.
Has SoftBank invested in both Agile Robots and its rival ABB?
Yes. SoftBank led Agile Robots' 2021 Series C and was in talks as of June 2026 to anchor an $800 million round, while separately securing a $1.75 billion loan on July 22, 2026 to acquire ABB's robotics unit for $5.4 billion, creating overlapping incentives.
Timeline
  • 2026-07-22SoftBank secures $1.75B loan to fund its $5.4B acquisition of ABB's robotics unit
  • 2026-07-05Rival Agility Robotics goes public via SPAC at ~$2.5B valuation
  • 2026-06-30BMW deploys rival Figure AI's humanoid for logistics at US plant
  • 2026-06-03Reports say SoftBank in early talks to anchor ~$800M Agile Robots round
  • 2026-04-01thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering acquisition closes; Agile ONE goes live on Industrial AI Cloud
  • 2026-03-24Agile Robots announces strategic partnership with Google DeepMind for Gemini Robotics
  • 2025-11-24Agile Robots announces acquisition of thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering
  • 2025-11-19Agile ONE humanoid robot launched for industrial use
  • 2025-06-04Agile Robots opens global headquarters in Munich's Sendling district
  • 2024-03-26Company converts legal form from Agile Robots AG to Agile Robots SE
Revision history
24 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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