When Seth Winterroth left GE Ventures to co-found Eclipse in 2015, he noticed a troubling trend: promising robotics startups emerging from top universities like MIT, CMU, and Waterloo were struggling to raise venture capital.
Fast forward ten years, and the picture looks very different. Winterroth, now a partner at Eclipse, says the time has never been better to invest in robotics. Hardware and software costs have fallen, technology has improved, and venture funding is flowing. According to Crunchbase, investors poured $6 billion into robotics startups in the first seven months of 2025, with projections that funding will surpass 2024 totals, making robotics one of the few non-AI sectors experiencing strong growth.
How Robotics Reached This Moment
The turning point, Winterroth explains, came in 2012 when Amazon acquired Kiva Systems, sparking a wave of new robotics ventures. While many early startups failed, the lessons learned by founders created a foundation for today’s more resilient companies.
Bee Partners’ Kira Noodleman agrees, noting that the past decade of trial and error helped startups understand real customer needs. While her portfolio company Rapid Robotics didn’t survive, its failures paved the way for a new generation of robotics founders.
Meanwhile, Cybernetix Ventures’ Fady Saad points to falling hardware costs and advancements in sensors, computing, and batteries as key enablers. These improvements, he says, now make it cheaper and more viable to scale robotics companies than ever before.
The Role of AI and Its Limits
While AI has fueled new excitement in robotics, investors stress that the industry’s momentum isn’t solely dependent on large language models. Unlike AI trained on internet data, robots rely on real-world data to operate effectively. Nvidia’s release of new “world models” for robot training in August highlights the push to bridge this gap, though Saad predicts widespread adoption will take time.
Where VCs See Opportunity
Manufacturing, warehousing, and construction remain reliable growth areas for robotics adoption. But investors also see promise in healthcare, surgical robotics, and eldercare, where labor shortages are pressing.
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Consumer robotics, however, continues to be a tougher sell. Saad points out that even iRobot, the maker of Roomba, has struggled to replicate its initial success, and consumer-focused humanoid robots have yet to prove their appeal.
The Future of Robotics Investment
Despite skepticism around consumer robots, VCs like Winterroth and Saad are optimistic about the broader market. With growing customer awareness, falling costs, and successful commercial case studies, robotics is no longer a question mark for investors.
As Winterroth puts it: “Ten, 15 years ago, it was questionable whether or not there was going to be a large and thriving marketplace for these types of solutions. Now there’s a lot of customer awareness.”
