German robot startup RobCo hits $1 billion valuation, CEO moves to US

German robotics maker RobCo on ​Monday said it had ​passed a $1 billion valuation ‌and ​that its CEO Roman Holzl had relocated to the United States to focus on the company's ‌fastest-growing market. The Munich-based firm said the valuation was based on a secondary sale of shares following a $100 million capital raise in January with ‌investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia and Lingotto.

In the secondary sale, ‌employees sold shares to existing and new investors including Cherry Ventures and the European Tech Collective. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported Monday's transaction and valuation, said ⁠the ​transaction involved the sale ⁠of $40 million worth of shares.

The company joins a small but growing group ⁠of European robotics startups valued at $1 billion or more that are targeting the ​emerging humanoid and human-like robot market, including NEURA Robotics and Agile ⁠Robots of Germany, and Humanoid of the UK. Founded in 2020, RobCo makes robots used ⁠in ​manufacturing. It said it will in March launch Alfie, a two-armed, self-learning robot designed to perform tasks in industrial settings that ⁠can't easily be done with traditional automation.

The company, which has operations ⁠in Austin ⁠and San Francisco in addition to its Munich base, said it now has customers in more than a ‌dozen US ‌states.