Which startups have raised the most funding in the autonomous systems market?

Last updated: 13 July 2026

A constantly refreshed list of the top startups in the autonomous systems market, ranked by cumulative funding

market research pitch 2026

In our updated market reports, you will find everything you need

The autonomous systems market brings together robotaxis, autonomous defense platforms, drones, humanoid robots, warehouse robotics, maritime autonomy, and other self-operating machines.

This list ranks autonomous systems startups by cumulative funding raised, using the best disclosed public information available.

We update this list every month, so the ranking stays useful as new funding rounds, IPOs, acquisitions, and shutdowns are announced.

A quick summary table

Metric Value
Most funded startup Waymo, with $26.4B raised
Second most funded startup Anduril Industries, with $11.2B raised
Largest funding round Waymo’s $16.0B investment round in February 2026
Median funding About $258M across the ranked autonomous systems startups
Share of funding captured by the top 10 About 75% of total ranked funding
Median time since last round About 15 months, based on July 2026 timing
Startups that raised funding in the last 12 months 34 startups
Autonomous systems companies above $1B raised 19 startups
Autonomous systems startups still active 70 startups
Autonomous systems IPO or public outcomes 10 startups

Top startups in the autonomous systems market ranked by total funding raised

Here is an updated table that ranks the top startups in the autonomous systems market based on the total amount of funding they have raised to date.

The table also includes the total number of funding rounds, the date and size of the latest round, the financing type, key investors, the startup’s current status, and a confidence score based on the data collected. We excluded startups with very low data confidence when the funding data could not be used reliably.

# Startup What They Do Total Raised ($) Total Rounds Last Round Date Last Round Amount ($) Last Round Type Key Investors Current Stage Confidence
1 Waymo Autonomous robotaxi platform $26.4B 4 February 2026 $16.0B Investment round Dragoneer, DST Global, Sequoia Capital Active Full
2 Anduril Industries Autonomous defense systems $11.2B 8 May 2026 $5.0B Series H Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund Active Strong
3 Cruise Autonomous robotaxi software $10.2B 8 June 2024 $850M Corporate funding General Motors Shutdown Partial
4 Motional Autonomous robotaxi technology $4.5B 2 May 2024 $475M Corporate equity Hyundai Motor Group, Aptiv Active Strong
5 Aurora Innovation Autonomous trucking software $3.7B 5 August 2024 $483M Post-IPO equity Institutional investors, PACCAR, Volvo IPO Partial
6 Shield AI Autonomous defense aircraft AI $3.0B 8 March 2026 $2.0B Series G / Preferred Equity Advent International, JPMorganChase, Blackstone Active Partial
7 Saronic Autonomous naval surface vessels $2.6B 5 March 2026 $1.8B Series D Kleiner Perkins, DFJ Growth, Glade Brook Capital Active Strong
8 Wayve Embodied AI driving software $2.5B 6 February 2026 $1.2B Series D Microsoft, NVIDIA, Uber Active Strong
9 Nuro Autonomous driving platform $2.3B 5 August 2025 $203M Series E Uber, NVIDIA, Baillie Gifford Active Full
10 TuSimple / CreateAI Former autonomous trucking developer $2.0B 6 August 2022 $15M Post-IPO equity HTIF IPO Partial
11 Figure AI General-purpose humanoid robots $1.8B 4 September 2025 $1.0B Series C Parkway Venture Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, NVIDIA Active Strong
12 Quantum Systems Autonomous defense drones $1.7B 6 July 2026 $1.2B Series D Blackstone, Airbus, Advent Active Partial
13 Zipline Autonomous drone delivery network $1.6B 13 March 2026 $200M Later-stage equity Fidelity Investments Active Partial
14 Pony.ai Autonomous robotaxi and truck software $1.6B 8 November 2024 $413M IPO / PIPE Toyota, Ontario Teachers, NEOM IPO Strong
15 NEURA Robotics Cognitive humanoid robots $1.6B 3 June 2026 $1.4B Series C Tether, NVIDIA, Amazon Active Strong
16 WeRide Autonomous driving technology platform $1.6B 7 May 2025 $100M Post-IPO private placement Uber IPO Partial
17 Helsing Defence AI autonomous systems $1.5B 4 June 2025 $694M Series D Prima Materia, Lightspeed, General Catalyst Active Partial
18 Waabi Generative AI autonomous driving $1.3B 4 January 2026 $250M Strategic equity Uber Active Full
19 Applied Intuition Autonomous vehicle simulation software $1.2B 6 June 2025 $600M Series F BlackRock, Kleiner Perkins, Lux Capital Active Full
20 Apptronik Humanoid industrial robots $963M 5 February 2026 $520M Series A-X Google, Mercedes-Benz, QIA Active Strong
21 Geek+ Warehouse autonomous mobile robots $813M 10 July 2025 $281M IPO Public market investors IPO Partial
22 Skydio Autonomous drones and software $740M 7 November 2024 $170M Series E Extension Linse Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Next47 Active Strong
23 Inceptio Technology Autonomous freight trucks $678M 4 February 2022 $188M Series B+ Sequoia Capital China, Legend Capital, NIO Capital Active Strong
24 PlusAI Autonomous truck driving software $620M 6 June 2021 Undisclosed Strategic round Guotai Junan, FountainVest, Amazon Active Partial
25 Agility Robotics Humanoid warehouse robots $578M 4 March 2025 $400M Series C WP Global Partners, SoftBank, Amazon Active Partial
26 Einride Electric autonomous freight trucks $558M 6 March 2026 $113M PIPE / IPO financing EQT Ventures, Capital Group IPO Strong
27 DeepRoute.ai Autonomous driving software $450M 3 November 2024 $100M Series C1 Great Wall Motor Active Strong
28 Exotec Warehouse robotics automation $446M 4 January 2022 $335M Series D Goldman Sachs Asset Management Active Full
29 Berkshire Grey Warehouse robotics automation $428M 2 July 2021 $165M PIPE / SPAC equity Social Capital, BlackRock, SoftBank Acquired Partial
30 Locus Robotics Warehouse autonomous mobile robots $416M 8 November 2022 $117M Series F Goldman Sachs, G2 Venture Partners, Stack Active Strong
31 GreyOrange Warehouse robotics automation $415M 6 December 2023 $135M Series D Anthelion Capital, Mithril Capital, Blume Ventures Active Partial
32 Bright Machines Software-defined manufacturing automation $385M 3 June 2024 $106M Series C BlackRock, NVIDIA, Microsoft Active Strong
33 Starship Technologies Autonomous sidewalk delivery robots $379M 8 October 2025 $50M Series C Plural, Karma, Latitude Active Partial
34 Saildrone Autonomous maritime intelligence vessels $362M 7 April 2026 $50M Strategic investment Lockheed Martin, EIFO, BOND Active Partial
35 Gecko Robotics Infrastructure inspection robots $347M 8 June 2025 $125M Series D Cox Enterprises, USIT, XN Active Strong
36 Oxbotica / Oxa Industrial autonomous driving software $328M 5 March 2026 $103M Series D National Wealth Fund, NVentures, bp ventures Active Strong
37 Hai Robotics Autonomous warehouse case-handling robots $315M 5 June 2022 $100M Series D+ Capital Today, 5Y Capital, Source Code Capital Active Partial
38 Forterra Defense autonomous driving systems $303M 2 September 2024 $75M Series B Moore Strategic Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital, Hedosophia Active Full
39 Dexterity Warehouse robotic manipulation $291M 3 March 2025 $95M Venture round Lightspeed, Sumitomo Corporation Active Strong
40 May Mobility Autonomous shuttle services $272M 5 November 2023 $105M Series D NTT Group, Toyota Ventures, Aioi Nissay Dowa Active Strong
41 Opentrons Lab automation robotics platform $271M 18 December 2025 $20M Series C-II SoftBank, Khosla Ventures, Sands Capital Active Partial
42 AutoX Driverless robotaxi technology $267M 8 April 2020 Undisclosed Series A Dongfeng Motor, Alibaba, MediaTek Active Low
43 Outrider Autonomous logistics yard operations $253M 5 October 2024 $62M Series D Koch Disruptive, NEA, 8VC Active Strong
44 Unitree Robotics Quadruped and humanoid robots $252M 6 June 2025 Undisclosed Series C Tencent, Ant Group, Alibaba Active Partial
45 QCraft Autonomous driving AI $249M 7 March 2026 $100M Series D Wonderland Capital, Broad Vision Funds, Ningbo Xingtaihe Active Partial
46 Covariant AI warehouse robotics software $222M 5 April 2023 $75M Series C extension Radical Ventures, Index Ventures, CPP Investments Acquired Full
47 Mytra Warehouse robotics platform $198M 4 January 2026 $120M Series C Avenir Growth, Eclipse, Greenoaks Active Strong
48 Carbon Robotics Laser weeding farm robots $178M 6 October 2025 $21M Series D-2 Giant Ventures, BOND, NVentures Active Partial
49 Mujin Industrial robot intelligence $178M 3 December 2023 $18M Series C extension SBI Investment, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Accenture Active Partial
50 Bear Robotics Autonomous service robots $175M 4 March 2024 $60M Series C / strategic LG Electronics, SoftBank, IMM Acquired Strong
51 Vecna Robotics Warehouse autonomous mobile robots $169M 4 June 2024 $40M Series C extension Tiger Global, Proficio, IMPULSE Active Partial
52 Attabotics Robotic warehouse fulfillment $165M 4 November 2022 $72M Series C-1 Export Development Canada, Ontario Teachers’, Honeywell Shutdown Strong
53 Kodiak Robotics Autonomous trucking technology $165M 2 November 2021 $125M Series B SIP Global Partners, Lightspeed, Battery Ventures IPO Full
54 Serve Robotics Autonomous delivery robots $163M 4 January 2025 $80M Post-IPO Equity NVIDIA, Uber IPO Partial
55 Gatik Autonomous middle-mile trucking $152M 7 August 2024 Undisclosed Series B / later equity Bluepointe Ventures, Flucas Ventures Active Partial
56 Seegrid Autonomous material-handling vehicles $152M 4 October 2025 $25M Later-stage financing G2VP, Giant Eagle, Private investors Active Partial
57 DroneDeploy Drone mapping software $142M 7 February 2021 $50M Series E Energize Ventures, AirTree, Bessemer Active Full
58 1X Technologies Humanoid home robots $137M 4 January 2024 $100M Series B EQT Ventures, OpenAI Startup Fund, Samsung NEXT Active Partial
59 ANYbotics Autonomous inspection robots $132M 4 December 2024 $60M Series B extension Qualcomm Ventures, Supernova Invest, TDK Ventures Active Strong
60 Coco Robotics Sidewalk delivery robots $123M 2 June 2025 $80M Later equity financing Sam Altman, Max Altman, SNR.vc Active Partial
61 Percepto Autonomous industrial drone inspections $123M 4 June 2023 $50M Series C Koch Disruptive, Zimmer Partners, USVP Active Strong
62 Auterion Autonomous drone software $115M 2 September 2025 $105M Series B Bessemer, Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures Active Strong
63 Built Robotics Autonomous construction equipment $112M 3 April 2022 $64M Series C Tiger Global, NEA, Founders Fund Active Partial
64 Orca AI Autonomous maritime navigation platform $111M 5 May 2025 $73M Series B Brighton Park, Ankona Capital, Hyperlink Active Partial
65 Dronamics Cargo drone airline $103M 4 June 2025 $35M Series A EIC Accelerator, SeedBlink, Speedinvest Active Partial
66 Airobotics Autonomous drone systems $101M 6 September 2017 $33M Series C BlueRun Ventures China, Microsoft Ventures, OurCrowd Acquired Partial
67 Sanctuary AI Humanoid general-purpose robots $100M 6 January 2025 $3M Venture extension Workday Ventures, BDC, InBC Active Partial
68 Scythe Robotics Autonomous commercial mowers $97M 7 May 2025 $23M Late venture extension Energy Impact Partners, Zigg Capital, True Ventures Acquired Partial
69 Fetch Robotics Warehouse autonomous mobile robots $94M 4 July 2019 $46M Series C Fort Ross Ventures, Zebra Ventures, SoftBank Capital Acquired Full
70 Fourier Intelligence Rehabilitation and humanoid robotics $83M 7 January 2022 $63M Series D SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Prosperity7 Ventures, Vision Plus Capital Active Partial
71 OTTO Motors Autonomous mobile robots for factories $83M 3 June 2020 $29M Series C Kensington, BMO Capital, EDC Acquired Strong
72 Diligent Robotics Hospital service robots $81M 6 February 2025 $11M Venture round Not fully disclosed Active Partial
73 Matternet Drone delivery systems $81M 15 May 2026 $33M PIPE EE Holdings, Montrose Capital Partners, existing investors IPO Partial
74 Phantom AI ADAS autonomy software stack $80M 4 February 2023 $37M Series C InterVest, Samsung Ventures, Shinhan GIB Active Strong
75 Intuition Robotics AI eldercare companion robots $76M 4 August 2023 $20M Series C Woven Capital, Toyota Ventures, OurCrowd Active Strong
76 Nauticus Robotics Autonomous subsea robots $76M 2 February 2026 $3M PIPE / preferred equity Master Investment Group, Transocean, SLB IPO Partial
77 Clearpath Robotics Autonomous mobile robot platforms $71M 4 June 2020 $29M Series C Kensington, BMO Capital Partners, EDC Acquired Partial
78 Manna Drone Delivery Autonomous drone delivery $71M 8 March 2025 $30M Series A Tapestry VC, Molten Ventures, Coca-Cola Active Partial
79 FarmWise AI agricultural weeding robots $65M 8 June 2022 $45M Series B Fall Line Capital, Middleland Capital, GV Acquired Partial
80 Miso Robotics Robotic kitchen automation $65M 8 February 2025 $0M Crowdfunding equity Acacia Research, Levy Restaurants, Cali Group Active Partial
81 Flytrex Drone delivery services $60M 4 November 2021 $40M Series C BRM Group, OurCrowd, Benhamou Global Ventures Active Strong
82 Burro Outdoor agricultural robots $45M 4 January 2024 $24M Series B Catalyst Investors, TransLink Capital, Toyota Ventures Active Strong
83 Robust.AI Collaborative warehouse robots $43M 3 April 2023 $20M Series A-1 Prime Movers Lab, JAZZ Venture Partners, Playground Global Active Strong
84 Sea Machines Robotics Autonomous marine vessel systems $39M 5 February 2024 $12M Funding Round Nabtesco Technology Ventures, Chevron Technology Ventures, Ingram Industries Active Strong
85 Venti Technologies Autonomous logistics yard vehicles $37M 2 March 2023 $29M Series A LG Technology Ventures, Safar Partners, UOB Active Full
86 Tevel Aerobotics Technologies Autonomous fruit harvesting robots $30M 2 February 2021 $20M Series B OurCrowd, Maverick Ventures, AgFunder Active Strong
87 Swiss-Mile Wheeled-legged AI robots $22M 1 October 2024 $22M Seed Bezos Expeditions, HongShan, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund Active Full
88 Energy Robotics Autonomous inspection software $16M 2 October 2025 $14M Series A Blue Bear Capital, Climate Investment, Earlybird Venture Capital Active Strong
89 Refraction AI Last-mile delivery robots $11M 3 2021–2023 Undisclosed Seed extension Pillar VC, Trucks VC, Alumni Ventures Active Partial
90 Rain Robotics Autonomous wildfire aircraft $10M 1 September 2023 $10M Seed DBL Partners, VoLo Earth Ventures, Kapor Capital Active Strong
91 DroneUp Drone delivery operations $8M 6 2023 Undisclosed Venture round Walmart, Center for Innovative Technology Active Low
92 Tortoise Remote-controlled delivery robots $8M 1 April 2021 $8M Series A Rosecliff Ventures, Permit Ventures, TA Ventures Shutdown Strong
93 Milrem Robotics Unmanned ground vehicles $6M 2 May 2021 Undisclosed Strategic equity stake Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, EDGE Group, Estonian investors Acquired Partial
94 Shone Autonomous cargo-ship software $4M 1 June 2018 $4M Seed Alven, Liquid 2 Ventures, Paul Graham Acquired Strong

Key funding trends in the autonomous systems market

Insights

  • The autonomous systems market is extremely concentrated, with Waymo alone representing roughly 34% of all ranked funding and the top 10 capturing about 75%
  • Robotaxi and road autonomy remain the most capital-intensive segments, led by Waymo, Cruise, Motional, Aurora, Wayve, Nuro, Pony.ai, WeRide, Waabi, and Applied Intuition
  • Defense autonomy is now a major funding pole, with Anduril, Shield AI, Saronic, Quantum Systems, Helsing, Forterra, and Auterion attracting large strategic and institutional capital
  • Humanoid robotics has moved beyond early experimentation, with Figure AI, NEURA Robotics, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, 1X Technologies, Sanctuary AI, and Swiss-Mile all appearing in the ranking
  • Warehouse and industrial autonomy is broader but less top-heavy, with Exotec, Locus Robotics, GreyOrange, Bright Machines, Dexterity, Mytra, Covariant, and OTTO Motors spread across the middle of the list
  • Large recent rounds are clustered in robotaxis, defense systems, humanoids, and embodied AI driving, while drone delivery, inspection, agriculture, and service robots remain smaller funding categories
  • Strategic investors are central to this market, with automakers, defense primes, cloud companies, industrial groups, and logistics players repeatedly backing startups tied to future autonomy infrastructure
  • Acquisitions are most visible in warehouse, industrial, and service robotics, suggesting buyers value autonomy startups with deployable hardware, customer relationships, and operational know-how

A few word about our methodology

As you can see, we built a database that ranks startups in the autonomous systems market based on total cumulative fundraising. To create this ranking, we reviewed many sources and cross-checked information across multiple places.

Whenever possible, we prioritized official company communications, since official announcements are usually the most reliable source for funding amounts. When those were not available, we relied on reputable industry sources such as TechCrunch, Crunchbase, Financial Times, Forbes, or other trusted publications.

We excluded random blogs, unverified websites, and any sources that could not be validated.

We also excluded companies when the available rows had no reliable disclosed total fundraising amount, or when only zero identified equity funding could be found.

When funding rounds were announced in other currencies such as euros, Swiss francs, Singapore dollars, Australian dollars, or rupees, we converted them into approximate USD equivalents for consistency.

Sometimes different sources report slightly different numbers, or the exact round size is not fully disclosed. In those cases, we flag the uncertainty and assign a confidence label to each startup, visible in the last column.

Here is what they mean.

Full confidence: The company’s equity fundraising history can be reconstructed completely from public sources. The rounds, dates, amounts, and key investors are clearly identified, with no meaningful gaps.

Strong confidence: The fundraising history is largely complete and reliable. There may be a small missing detail, such as incomplete investor information or a minor round with limited data, but the overall record is clear.

Partial confidence: The main fundraising rounds can be identified, but the record is incomplete or somewhat mixed. Some rounds may be missing or certain funding events may be difficult to separate clearly.

Low confidence: Public information is too limited, inconsistent, or ambiguous to reliably reconstruct the company’s equity fundraising history.

When the confidence level is too low, we take a conservative approach and exclude the company from the ranking when the data cannot be reliably verified.

In a world where LLMs hallucinate and unreliable information is everywhere, our goal is simple: provide data you can trust.

If you want the full detail on a specific calculation, feel free to contact us and we will gladly explain.

Finally, know that we update the dataset once per month, so come back here if you need fresh information.

Who is the author of this content?

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