DePAI Digest: September 2025

September was a big month for humanoid robotics. Startups rolled out fully autonomous models, investors backed universal robot brains with record funding, and major contracts signaled large-scale deployment in China. At the same time, radical new designs with artificial muscles and bones showed how fast the field is breaking from tradition.

Here’s the latest from the world of DePAI.

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1. Detroit Startup Unveils Borg01

BorgRobotic, a Detroit based start-up, has proudly unveiled their latest model – Borg 01 -which is poised to disrupt the humanoid robots market. This is not a multi-billion dollar project from a leading tech giant – it's the latest proof that the future of physical AI is being driven by lean and agile teams.

Developed by a small team of just 3 engineers using custom, in-house actuators, the Borg01 is a fully autonomous machine that operates without the need for tele-operation. With a maximum speed of 2 metres per second, the release of Borg01 marks a significant milestone in the service robotics industry. Once the reserve of large engineering teams with endless budgets, Borg Robotics shows what is achievable with focused design and a fraction of the resources.

This landmark advancement is a clear win for the emerging open robotics ecosystem and the decentralized physical AI (DePAI) movement. The success of Borg01 lowers the barrier to entry for innovators and small builders across the globe thereby accelerating the development of practical everyday robotics.

Such high profile wins demonstrate that the robotics industry isn’t necessarily dominated by large faceless corporations but rather a global community of innovators and builders.

2. FieldAI Secures $405M to Develop a Universal ‘Robot Brain’

Another week, another massive funding raise in the robotics landscape. FieldAI have announced they have secured a massive $405 million to advance their ‘robot brain’ concept marking a significant development for the future of physical AI.

At the heart of the Field AI mission is the Field Foundational Model (FFM) which differs significantly from retrofitted vision of language models. Through ‘ground up’ development, FFMs are specifically designed to handle the risk and uncertainty of the physical world. This means FieldAI humanoids are equipped to make safer, more adaptable decisions across a wide variety of environments leading to a greater range of applications in service robotics.

CEO Ali Agha: “The mission is to build a single robot brain that can generalize across different robot types and environments.”

This funding milestone sends a powerful message to the open robotics ecosystem and the humanoid robotics market in general. It demonstrates that investors are ready to back the next generation of general purpose robots, and at scale.

The buzz surrounding FieldAI’s successful raise is helping to fuel the global growth in robotics and accelerates the development of a unified intelligence layer. This progress provides a powerful foundation level for the robotics token model in which a shared brain has the power to create a new style shared economy.

3. Agility Launches a ‘Motor Cortex’ for Humanoid Robots

Agility Robotics has positioned its humanoid robot model ‘digit’ as a ‘highly robust and capable platform’ with the unveiling of its new Whole-Body Control Foundation Model. The company refers to its new design as a ‘motor cortex’ for humanoids. In reality, this is a compact neural network trained in NVIDIA's Isaac Sim that manages the robot's entire physical system.

The model’s core strength is its ability to learn in a simulated physics environment and then transfer zero-shot to the real world. In particular, this means dense free-space positioning and orientation objectives for the arms and torso to accomplish different goals. This allows Digit to perform tasks like walking, balancing and manipulating objects with a high degree of precision and without any real-world training which is a major leap for service robotics. Another selling point is that the model is a relatively small neural network that facilitates reactive and intuitive control of the robot.

The design concept is a game changer and a testament to the power of a decentralized physical AI (DePAI) approach, as it lets developers build complex behaviors and skills on top of an already-robust base layer. By proving their core ‘motor cortex’ is both stable and capable, Agility Robotics are providing a foundational layer that has the potential to accelerate the entire physical AI industry.

4. UBTech Lands $35M Contract as Walker S2 Prepares for 24/7 Service Deployment

Shenzen based UBTech Robotics Corp have announced a landmark achievement in the humanoid robotics industry with the securing of a $35 million contract for its embodied intelligent products and services with a ‘well known’ Chinese domestics company that chooses to remain anonymous at this moment in time.

The primary component of the contract is the Walker S2 humanoid robot which has been designed specifically for general service robotics and specialized industry tasks. The leading feature of the Walker S2 model is the autonomous hot-swappable battery system that allows for continuous operation in challenging, real world environments. This means the Walker S2 is capable of working 24 hours a day. Delivery is expected to begin later in 2025.

According to a UBTech press release, the Walker S2 is fitted with both Brain-Net 2.0 network and Co-Agent technology that enables the machines to work both independently or as a coordinated group. This Decentralized Physical AI (DePAI) capability enhances production capabilities considerably and allows for continuous model improvement.

Publicly available data shows that UBTech have won almost 4 billion Yuan ($560 million) in contracts for their Walker robot series. With UBTech orders of 50 million Yuan in 2025 alone, many people believe the production of humanoid robots in the Chinese market is beginning to accelerate. Furthermore the deal underlines the strong corporate belief in the immediate viability of physical AI and the readiness of companies to make large-scale investments in humanoid solutions.

It is clear that the open robotics ecosystem is moving beyond lab demonstrations to a stage of large-scale commercial deployment. validating the hard work of the entire open robotics ecosystem and cementing a new reality for the machine economy.

5. Clone Robotics Reveals Protoclone, a Humanoid Powered by Artificial Muscles

Boston based humanoid robot start-up Clone Robotics has gone completely rogue by challenging the very foundation of the robotics industry through a new approach to humanoid design. With most manufacturers building variations of the motor driven model of motors and gears, Clone Robotics has thrown out the traditional playbook by developing a machine that mimics human biology with artificial muscles, bones, and a hydraulic pump that acts as a "beating heart."

The revolutionary approach involves a modern version of the 1950s artificial ‘McKibben muscle’ which is powered through hydraulics for a significant increase in power. This innovative leap in physical AI design and technology has allowed their creation, Protoclone, to achieve over 200 degrees of freedom which is a significant advancement from traditional 30-60 degrees typically seen in motor-based bots. With over 1000 individual muscles all working in harmony, it's easy to see why Clone Robotics is getting a lot of attention.

Such a high risk, high reward business strategy makes Clone Robotics a brilliant contrarian bet for the Decentralized Physical AI (DePAI) investor. Whilst Tesla and Boston Dynamics focus on similar motor driven architecture, the design architecture of Clone's biological mimicry completely sets it apart.

The company’s primary engineering challenge remains to create a walking, untethered robot, however their unique approach could give them a major advantage. In a field where everyone is playing it safe, Clone Robotics is proving that sometimes the biggest risk is not taking one at all.

6. Apptronik’s Apollo Wins Global Awards, Cementing Its Role in Service Robotics

In a significant show of market recognition, University of Texas based Apptronik, have secured a series of leading industry awards.

Firstly, their Decentralized Physical AI (DePAI) humanoid robot, Apollo, was named the winner of Fast Company’s 2025 ‘Innovation by Design Award’. This prestigious award focuses on honoring the businesses that address society’s most urgent challenges through design while anticipating the problems of tomorrow.

Earlier this year the company was also named #33 on CNBC’s 2025 ‘Disruptor 50 List’ which aims to recognize the world’s 50 most innovative and fast-growing private companies. The criteria for this prestigious award includes the ability to transform industry and economy and is based on a rigorous evaluation of quantitative and qualitative assessments, as well as expert reviews from advisory boards.

Finally, Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas has been recognized as a ‘2025 Automotive News All-Star’ in the Best Emerging Business Model category. This award is given to individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership and innovation across the automotive landscape. While not robotics per se, this award reflects the broad array of disciplines it takes to innovate, build, and sell vehicles in a competitive global marketplace.

Such top ranking accolades confirm Apptronik’s unique position in the humanoid robotics market and help validate the core philosophy that collaborative robots are designed to enhance the human experience.

In particular, the success of Apollo (backed by strategic partnerships with major companies like Mercedes-Benz and Google DeepMind) demonstrates that the demand for practical and intuitive service robotics is growing rapidly.

7. Dyna Robotics Raises $120M Series A to Scale General Purpose Robots Globally

Leading humanoid robot company Dyna Robotics, have successfully raised $120 million in their first Series A funding round with the aim of advancing the development of ‘general purpose high performance’ robots. Such investment is sure to accelerate the company mission of ensuring foundation-model powered robots are accessible to everyone, anywhere in the world.

Dyna continues to build on a solid foundation and already in its first year of operation have:

• Designed, built and shipped their generalized robotics foundation model – DYNA-1
• Ran real-life pilots across laundry, restaurants, hotels, gyms in <90 days
• Observed 99%+ success in a 24-hour non-stop run

The success of DYNA-1 means that for the first time, a general purpose foundational model is performing an array of diverse daily tasks at commercial scale across a multitude of environments.

Dyna’s successful raise is backed by some of the leading names in innovation and funding including RoboStrategy, CRV and First Round. Together with contributions from Salesforce Ventures, Nventures, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Samsung Next and LG Technology Ventures, Dyna Robotics continue to push ahead with their vision to develop the robotics foundation model with best generalization + performance available on the market today.

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