Washington targets robot imports, Agility goes public, $20 billion valuation, and home insurance for humanoids

Washington declares imported robots a national security threat

President Trump has formally declared that America's dependence on imported robots and industrial machinery threatens national security. The October 28 proclamation invokes Section 232, the same trade law used to impose steel and aluminum tariffs in 2018.

The U.S. imported $86 billion in robotics and industrial machinery in 2024. Washington is concerned about domestic manufacturing capacity, military readiness, cybersecurity, and dependence on foreign suppliers. That includes:

• humanoids
• quadrupeds
• autonomous ground vehicles
• industrial robots

There are no new tariffs yet. Instead, the Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representative have 180 days to report on negotiations with trading partners. Tariffs, quotas, fees, and domestic manufacturing incentives are all potential next steps.

This of course follows the FCC's restrictions on foreign-produced advanced robots earlier this year. Robots are becoming a national security issue, not just an industrial one.

Agility Robotics heads to Nasdaq next week

Agility Robotics expects to become a publicly traded company on November 5, under ticker AGLT. 

Its merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI is expected to deliver approximately $465 million in gross capital: that's $164 million from the SPAC trust, $201 million from a Foxconn-led private investment, and another $100 million already received.

It's less than the $620 million originally projected, but still substantial funding. 

Shareholders vote November 2. The merger is expected to close November 4; if everything goes through, Agility becomes a publicly traded benchmark for the American humanoid industry.

AGIBOT wants to change how we measure robot work

The world's biggest humanoid robot maker by recent shipments thinks we're measuring the industry wrong.

At its Innovation Day in Shanghai, AGIBOT introduced a proposed productivity metric called Worken, combining the words work and token. Instead of counting robots manufactured or shipped, Worken measures active robots, hours worked autonomously, and how efficiently they produce acceptable results.

Here's the formula:

Worken = Number of Active Robots × Autonomous Working Hours × Output Efficiency Ratio.

My thinking? I'm OK with good-old-FTEs.

Hyundai Mobis bets big on robot joints

Hyundai Mobis is selling its automotive lighting business for approximately $443 million, while expanding into robotics components.

And the big opportunity is actuators, the motors and mechanisms that move robot joints which currently represent roughly 60% of a humanoid robot's material costs.

The company plans to begin producing prototypes for Boston Dynamics' Atlas in November, with supply targeted for 2028. It's also expanding into robot hands, perception systems, and controllers, while roughly doubling its robotics workforce.

Its annual research and development spending is expected to exceed $1.5 billion.

Bleu Robotics raises €5 million to teach humanoids faster

Every robot training company on the planet is raising money, apparently. Now French startup Bleu Robotics has raised €5 million in pre-seed funding, co-led by Contrarian Ventures and OVNI Capital.

The company says its software can teach humanoid robots new factory tasks from as few as ten human demonstrations, using up to 100 times less training data. Its goal: deploy a robot on a new factory task in under an hour.

Bleu claims more than 99% accuracy on production tasks, and says it's already working with automotive manufacturers and European paper producer WEPA.

More than 1,100 jobs training robots

Here's an interesting counterpoint to the idea that robots eliminate all human work.

Research from RobotTraining.jobs identified 1,128 open robot-training positions across 84 employers in an October 22 snapshot. They're people teleoperating robots, collecting demonstration data, supervising autonomous vehicles, and managing robot fleets.

And the market is moving quickly. An updated October 29 count identified 1,151 openings across 97 employers.

Robot intelligence still needs enormous amounts of human work to develop. For now, teaching robots is becoming its own employment category.

Humanoid robots can now get home insurance

And finally, something I wasn't expecting: British insurance broker Adrian Flux has launched what it calls the UK's first home insurance specifically covering humanoid robots.

Underwritten by Tokio Marine HCC, it covers damage to the robot, theft, property damage caused by the robot, personal liability, and even emergency recovery if your robot malfunctions.

I guess the insurance industry is preparing for the robot invasion.

Number of the day: $20 billion, zero revenue

Everyone is robot training is raising money, right?

Physical Intelligence is reportedly negotiating a funding round of at least $1 billion at a valuation of roughly $20 billion. Earlier this year, it was valued at $11.5 billion. In late 2024, about $2.4 billion.

Its reported current revenue?

Zero.

Investors are betting that Physical Intelligence can build foundation AI models that work across many different kinds of robots and physical tasks. We will, as they say, see.

Sources

1. White House Section 232 determination on robot imports

2. Agility Robotics: $465 million and expected Nasdaq debut

3. Forbes: World's biggest humanoid robot maker wants to change how we measure robot work

4. Hyundai Mobis: Atlas actuator production and lamp business sale

5. The AI Insider: Bleu Robotics raises €5 million

6. RoboticsTomorrow: What 1,128 robot-training jobs reveal

7. Martin Cid: UK's first humanoid robot home insurance

8. Hoodline: Physical Intelligence nears $20 billion valuation