[News] NVIDIA, Samsung Reportedly Back Startup Skild AI in Consumer Robotics Push

Robotics are rapidly emerging as a key growth area for global tech companies. According to Bloomberg, Samsung and NVIDIA are reportedly planning to acquire minority stakes in Skild AI as part of their efforts to strengthen their presence in the consumer robotics sector.

Sources indicate that Samsung is investing USD 10 million in Skild, while NVIDIA is reportedly contributing USD 25 million, according to Bloomberg. The financing is part of Skild’s Series B round, which values the company at roughly USD 4.5 billion and is spearheaded by a USD 100 million commitment from Japan’s SoftBank Group, the report adds.

Meanwhile, the report also mentions that other major South Korean conglomerates—including LG, Hanwha, and Mirae Asset—have each invested between USD 5 million and USD 10 million in Skild.

As noted by AI Magazine, Skild is developing a general-purpose brain for robots to enable a scalable AI platform capable of performing diverse tasks. The startup claims its Skild Brain is the first scalable foundation model for robotics.

Samsung’s Broader Investments in Robotics

Major tech companies—including Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Google—have been investing heavily in robotics, while Tesla has been preparing to launch its Optimus robot, as Bloomberg indicates.

Samsung has been actively expanding its presence in the robotics industry. As noted by Bloomberg, earlier this year, the company acquired a minority stake in Physical Intelligence, a firm focused on developing foundational robotics algorithms.

In addition, Samsung is the largest shareholder of Rainbow Robotics, a company specializing in humanoid robots. As Bloomberg highlights, Rainbow Robotics plays a central role in Samsung’s robotics strategy.

NVIDIA’s Push Into Physical AI and Robotics

NVIDIA has been actively promoting the concept of “physical AI.” According to Bloomberg, the company is developing a suite of semiconductors, software, and services to accelerate the deployment of intelligent, autonomous robots. It has also invested in companies such as Figure AI and Serve Robotics, as noted by Bloomberg.

Notably, TrendForce notes that NVIDIA has introduced the Isaac GR00T N1 foundation model for general-purpose humanoid robots. Although GR00T N1 is open-source, TrendForce points out that AI model performance is often tightly linked to specific hardware. As a result, developers building humanoid robots with GR00T N1 are expected to adopt NVIDIA’s hardware solutions—reinforcing a closed ecosystem that helps secure the company’s leadership in the humanoid robotics space.

Read more

• NVIDIA Unveils Open-Source Isaac GR00T N1 to Optimize AI Training, Securing a Leading Position in Humanoid Robotics, Says TrendForce
• [News] Samsung Speeds up Humanoid Development to Offset Business Headwinds, Challenging Tech Giants

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)