Nvidia, Samsung Eye Small Stakes In Startup Skild AI Amid Growing Hype For Consumer Robotics

Artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and South Korean electronics giant Samsung were reportedly eyeing stakes in startup Skild AI, a general-purpose robotics intelligence company.

Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that Nvidia is plowing in $25 million as part of a Series B funding round, while Samsung is planning a $10 million stake.

The fresh funding round, led by Japan’s SoftBank Group, valued Skild AI at $4.5 billion, with the Masayoshi Son-led investment firm contributing $100 million. 

Last July, Skild AI closed a $300-million Series A funding round, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, SoftBank Group, and Jeff Bezos, through Bezos Expeditions.

Pittsburgh-based Skild AI’s foundation model serves as a shared, general-purpose brain for a diverse array of robots, scenarios, and tasks, including manipulation, locomotion, and navigation. 

The company also said its model represented a “step change in how robotics will be scaled and has the potential to change the entire physical economy.”

The company seeks to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) rooted in the physical world in the long term.

Samsung’s proposed investment in Skild is seen as a move to maintain visibility into the latter and its talent without needing to make a significant commitment, the report said. It is also in line with similar investments made in the startup by other South Korean conglomerates, such as LG, Hanwha, and Mirae Asset.

The report also said Samsung considered some aspects of Skild’s solutions inferior to others in the market.

Samsung recently made a small investment in Physical Intelligence, which develops underlying robotics algorithms. 

The company is also looking to evolve further in robotics, from merely offering robotic vacuums to humanoid robots and other household appliances.

The South Korean company is also the largest shareholder in humanoid robot maker Rainbow Robotics.

Nvidia’s interest in Skild is attributable to the Jensen Huang-led company’s recent push into “physical AI.” The company has also invested in Figure AI and Serve Robotics.

Nvidia stock was down 1.04% at $141.29 in Thursday’s early premarket session.

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