Insider Brief
- Tether Investments invested in Generative Bionics, a major spinoff from the Italian Institute of Technology, as part of a €70 million round aimed at bringing industrial-grade humanoid robots to market.
- Generative Bionics inherits two decades of IIT research, exclusive technology licenses, and a technical team of roughly 70 engineers and AI researchers to support scaling its humanoid platform for deployment beginning in 2026 across sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare.
- Tether says the investment aligns with its strategy to back decentralized, infrastructure-oriented technologies, building on prior moves in brain-computer interfaces and open AI compute networks as humanoid robotics becomes a fast-growing industrial category.
Tether Investments, the independent investment arm of Tether, said it is investing in Generative Bionics, a new spinoff from the Italian Institute of Technology that aims to commercialize humanoid robots built for industrial use. The funding is part of a €70 million round and reflects Tether’s effort to expand into technologies it considers core to future digital and physical infrastructure.
Generative Bionics draws on two decades of IIT research involving dozens of humanoid prototypes and retains exclusive licenses to key technologies developed inside the institute and with corporate partners. The company has absorbed roughly 70 engineers and AI researchers from IIT, along with specialists in industrialization and manufacturing, giving it a technical base intended to support scaling beyond the laboratory, according to Tether.
“Tether invests in technologies that strengthen global digital and physical infrastructure and expand human potential. Humanoid robotics and Physical AI represent a powerful evolution in how intelligence and capability operate in the real world,” Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said. “Generative Bionics is building one of the most advanced platforms emerging from Europe, and we are proud to support a team that is transforming Italy’s scientific leadership into global industrial impact.”
Tether said its investment will help the company validate its humanoid platform for industrial settings, build its first production facility, and prepare deployment programs expected in 2026 across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, retail and other sectors. Generative Bionics plans to position its systems as safety- and efficiency-enhancing tools that pair robotics with onboard AI.
The company’s mandate aligns with Tether’s broader strategy to support technologies it views as decentralizing and infrastructure-strengthening, including earlier investments in brain-computer interfaces and open AI compute networks, Tether indicated. Tether frames these efforts as part of a push to expand human capability while reducing reliance on large, centralized technology providers.
Humanoid robotics is forecast to grow substantially over the next decade as industries adopt more automation. Generative Bionics is expected to debut its first full robot concept at CES in Las Vegas.
Image credit: Tether
