Insider Brief
- MassRobotics, AWS and Nvidia are launching a Physical AI Fellowship to move robotics startups from prototype to production with hands‑on engineering support, compute credits and access to test facilities, with an inaugural eight‑startup cohort starting Fall 2025.
- Fellows receive $200,000 in AWS credits and embedded guidance from the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, access to Nvidia Inception (Isaac platform, Nvidia Cosmos, DLI training, preferred pricing) and prototyping/testing at MassRobotics, plus go‑to‑market exposure at partner events.
- The cohort spans Bedrock Robotics, Blue Water Autonomy, Diligent Robotics, Generalist AI, RobCo, Tutor Intelligence, Wandercraft and Zordi, targeting applications across logistics, health care, manufacturing, construction, maritime and controlled‑environment agriculture.
MassRobotics, AWS and Nvidia are launching a fellowship program to help robotics startups move from from prototypes to production, offering hands‑on engineering help, compute credits and access to test facilities. The inaugural Fall 2025 cohort includes eight startups building AI‑enabled machines for industries from logistics to health care, the groups said in the announcement.
“Physical AI is moving intelligent machines from the lab into the real world,” said Tom Ryden, Executive Director at MassRobotics. “This fellowship will give robotics startups the practical support to build, validate, and scale by combining AWS’s leadership in AI, NVIDIA’s accelerated computing stack, and our robotics expertise and network.”
The program pairs fellows with scientists and engineers from the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center for one‑on‑one guidance on models, toolchains and deployment patterns. Nividia will support participants through its Inception program and accelerated‑computing stack used to simulate, train and deploy robots.
“Physical AI is the next frontier of innovation where the intelligence we have advanced in the digital world now shapes how machines interact in the real world,” noted Tye Brady, Chief Technologist of Robotics at Amazon. “With the tools and guidance from AWS and our partners in this program, these startups will have both the horsepower and playbook to transform bold ideas into automation that will reshape entire industries.”
Fellows receive embedded technical support from AWS; $200,000 in AWS credits and dedicated support channels; access to Nvidia’s Isaac robotics platform, Nvidia Cosmos, free self‑paced courses and discounted instructor‑led training via the Nvidia Deep Learning Institute; preferred pricing on Nvidia hardware and software through Inception; prototyping and testing at MassRobotics; and go‑to‑market exposure at AWS, Nvidia and MassRobotics events. MassRobotics said its ecosystem includes about 100 resident startups, more than 500 robotics companies and over 30 corporate sponsors.
“Nvidia’s AI infrastructure and software technologies help companies all over the world simulate, train, and deploy robots safely and more efficiently,” Deepu Talla, Vice President of Robotics and Edge AI at Nvidia, pointed out. “Our collaboration will empower startups with the tools and programs they need to bring the next generation of intelligent machines to market.”
Cohort (Fall 2025)
- Bedrock Robotics: Bedrock Robotics emerged from stealth in July with $80 million in Seed and Series A funding to retrofit existing construction equipment with reversible autonomous systems and already deployed on sites in Arizona, Texas, and Arkansas, is targeting operator‑less deployments by 2026 to tackle labor shortages in the $13 trillion construction market.
- Blue Water Autonomy: Blue Water Autonomy recently raised a $50 million Series A, bringing total funding to $64 million since April 2025, to build and deploy its first long‑range, full‑sized autonomous ship next year for U.S. Navy missions, positioning the Boston startup, staffed by Navy and shipbuilding veterans, to meet Pentagon demand amid China’s shipbuilding rise while eyeing commercial maritime uses.
- Diligent Robotics: Austin-based Diligent Robotics, founded by social-robotics experts Andrea Thomaz and Vivian Chu, has deployed its AI-native humanoid Moxi in 25+ U.S. hospitals, completing 1M+ tasks and saving nearly 600,000 staff hours by taking on routine deliveries so nurses can focus on patient care.
- Generalist AI: Generalist AI is training and showcasing end‑to‑end models for dexterous manipulation—targeting fine motor control, spatial/temporal precision, cross‑robot generalization, and robustness to disturbances—as a first step toward deploying general‑purpose robots in real‑world settings.
- RobCo: RobCo, a Munich-based robot‑as‑a‑service startup, has expanded its U.S. presence with a San Francisco HQ, two Austin assembly sites and customer operations across 14 states—bolstered by its acquisition of Rapid Robotics’ assets—as it delivers modular automation to manufacturers grappling with labor shortages.
- Tutor Intelligence: Massachusetts-based Tutor Intelligence offers a turnkey robots‑as‑a‑service palletizing system priced per hour with no term commitments, promising “infinite SKU” changeovers via AI vision, two‑month go‑lives (two days after delivery), and cloud fleet management so sites can fund automation from operating budgets.
- Wandercraft: Wandercraft recently raised $75 million in Series D funding to commercialize its self‑balancing Eve exoskeleton by 2026, expand Atalante X in clinics, and launch Calvin‑40, an NVIDIA‑powered industrial‑grade humanoid built with Renault to handle demanding tasks, building on FDA clearances, deployments in 100+ rehab centers, and millions of autonomous steps.
- Zordi: Boston-based Zordi builds autonomous robots for controlled‑environment agriculture that monitor crops, detect issues early and perform delicate tasks like harvesting strawberries—aiming to boost yields and cut labor costs for indoor farms.
MassRobotics is the world’s largest independent robotics hub, accelerating innovation, commercialization and adoption by giving startups the workspace, resources, programming and connections to build, prototype, test and launch robotics and Physical AI solutions. Headquartered in Boston with a global footprint, it partners with startups, academia, industry and governments to speed robotics acceleration and adoption worldwide. More information about the program can be found here.
