Amazon-Backed Agility Robotics Goes Public in Quest to Scale Humanoids
Although the adoption of humanoid robots within supply chains remains few and far between, one developer is hoping to jumpstart the technology’s expansion by going public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC, merger. Agility Robotics will merge with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp XI, valuing the combined firm at $2.5 billion. With the transaction, Agility expects to raise more than $620 million in gross proceeds. That will include $420 million in cash held in Churchill’s trust account, alongside roughly $200 million in incremental financing led by new and existing investors led by Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn. Amazon, Nvidia and SoftBank are also among investors. Both boards of directors have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year. The firm says it will list on a major North American exchange under the ticker symbol “AGLT.” The company is most known for its Digit humanoid robot built to help warehouse and manufacturing employees with repetitive tasks like lifting boxes, stacking totes and moving items from other mobile robots onto conveyor belts. Digit robots have been used by GXO , Amazon and its Latin American e-commerce counterpart Mercado Libre. The 5-foot-9 Digit v4 robot can lift up to 35 pounds, reach 5.5 feet and tend to machines for up to 16 hours a day. The company is now preparing for the commercial launch of its next-generation humanoid robot, Digit v5, which can lift up to 50 pounds, extend its reach up to 7.2 feet and operate for as much as 22 hours per day. Beyond the numbers, the new iteration will no longer be confined to its workcell fenced off from warehouse workers, unlike previous Digit models. Instead, the v5 is built to work alongside humans throughout the facilities they operate in. Agility says it has already secured more than $300 million of multi-year orders for the v5 technology, subject to the realization of certain contractual milestones, with a growing pipeline of over 30 customers. According to Agility’s presentation on the merger Wednesday morning, Digit v5 could increase its total addressable market by improving its dexterity capabilities. For example, by the end of 2026, the firm expects the humanoids to be able to move items like structured totes and trays between two known locations with more consistent positioning. Agility intends to use the proceeds from the SPAC merger to fulfill existing customer orders, expand commercial deployments, scale production of Digit v5 and continue investing in its integrated platform spanning robotics , physical AI, software, safety systems and manufacturing infrastructure. “The demand here is large and increasing,” said Agility CEO Peggy Johnson on the investor call. “We have companies reshoring production, older workers retiring and younger generations just not opting for these types of menial jobs.” According to Agility, Digit robots have been deployed across nine customer facilities, accumulating more than 65,000 hours of operation. Last November, GXO said the humanoid moved over 100,000 totes in its facility in Flowery Branch, Ga., where the third-party logistics provider manages warehouse operations for Spanx. Amazon unveiled its first test of the Digit humanoid at a robotics R&D facility in Sumner, Wash., but has played coy over the breadth of its deployment despite its vast robotics ambitions . The companies’ relationship goes beyond partnering on robotics deployments. The company is one of the first beneficiaries of the e-commerce giant’s $1 billion venture capital vehicle, the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, with the tech titan injected $150 million in funding for the robotics manufacturer in 2022. With the fund, Amazon is investing in startups across the supply chain to identify and nurture technologies that address operational challenges in fulfillment centers, logistics and supply chain management. Agility wants to support the commercial scaling of the technology by keeping most of its business in-house. The company operates a cloud-based automation platform, Agility Arc, which integrates Digit into customer operations and enables deployment, fleet orchestration and operational management across multiple facilities. Agility also owns its own humanoid manufacturing facility in Salem, Ore., called “RoboFab,” which is designed to produce up to 10,000 units annually once fully up and running. The company also owns many of Digit’s hardware system, and sources about 75 percent of the robot’s parts within the U.S.
Source: WWD