Stablecoin giant Tether is in talks to lead a €1 billion ($1.16 billion) funding round for Neura Robotics, a German startup developing AI-powered humanoid robots.
The potential deal would value Neura at between €8 billion and €10 billion, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the talks. If completed, the investment would represent a sharp increase over Neura’s last round in January, when it raised €120 million.
Tether did not confirm the talks with the FT, but said it is “actively exploring numerous opportunities to continue investing in cutting-edge technology.”
Neura’s main product is a humanoid robot designed for industrial use, with plans to expand into home environments. The company has publicly set a goal of producing 5 million robots by 2030 and is positioning its offering as a possible mainstream breakthrough, the so-called “iPhone moment” for robotics. According to its January statement, it has already registered 1 billion euros in orders.
Tether’s growing investment portfolio includes companies in agriculture, brain technology and sports. The company made more than $10 billion in profits in the first nine months of the year by investing reserves from its stablecoin operations, which include holding large amounts of US Treasury bonds.
The stablecoin giant also holds billions of dollars in gold, along with reserves of bitcoin. The company has recently increased its bet on video-sharing platform Rumble and was previously reportedly looking to raise funds at a valuation of $500 billion.
Interest in humanoid robots has increased as companies like Nvidia, Tesla and SoftBank race to apply generative AI to physical machines.
Tesla aims to produce 1 million Optimus robots by 2030. Startups like 1X, Figure AI and The Bot Company are also vying for a piece of what Nvidia’s CEO recently described as a multibillion-dollar opportunity.
