Robots on Wall Street: Non-traditional paths to public markets for robotics companies
NVIDIA Corp. — the Digit humanoid robot from Agility, which is an example of a SPAC acquisition. , a leading humanoid robotics and physical AI company, announced it had entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Churchill Capital Corp XI, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.
The deal values Agility at a $2.5 billion pre-money equity valuation. The Agility transaction comes at an inflection point for robotics companies seeking to scale their businesses during a time of technological disruption, increased visibility, and public acceptance, as well as labor shortages and onshoring pressures that are accelerating the need for deployment of robotics systems. While the traditional IPO path remains challenging, de-SPAC transactions and varieties of reverse-merger transactions may prove to be the optimal approach for many robotics companies seeking additional capital and access to public markets. Agility deal follows SPAC playbook The Agility deal is expected to generate approximately $620 million of gross transaction proceeds, including approximately $200 million of incremental financing via a private placement of public equity (PIPE) financing. The PIPE is led by Foxconn, alongside other existing and new institutional investors. Agility’s path to the public markets follows a well-worn SPAC playbook. Churchill XI, sponsored by financier Michael Klein, went public in December 2025 and raised approximately $420 million in its trust account. The transaction is expected to close in 2026, subject to Churchill XI shareholder approval, SEC review of a Form S-4 registration statement, receipt of regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The humanoid robot developer is backed by a roster of strategic investors including DCVC, NVIDIA, Amazon, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Foxconn, Schaeffler and Playground Global. Editor’s note: Jonathan Hurst, co-founder and chief robot officer of Agility, will speak about robotics breakthroughs in the opening keynote for the 20th anniversary of RoboBusiness on Oct. 20 in Santa Clara, Calif. Register now to attend. Register now and save on your pass to RoboBusiness 2026 Serve Robotics pioneered a non-traditional path Nearly three years before Agility’s announcement, another robotics company chose a non-traditional path to the public markets. On July 31, 2023, Serve Robotics Inc., which develops autonomous sidewalk delivery robots, completed a reverse merger with Patricia Acquisition Corp., a “shell” corporation, formed without a specific business plan or purpose. Concurrently with the reverse merger, Serve raised approximately $30 million in financing led by existing investors Uber, NVIDIA, and Wavemaker Partners, with participation from new investors.
