Samsung Electronics (SSNLF, Financial) and Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) are diving deeper into the humanoid robotics race. The two tech giants have taken minority stakes in Skild AI, a startup building software to power autonomous robots. Nvidia is investing $25 million. Samsung is putting in $10 million. The deal is part of a Series B round led by SoftBank, which is anchoring the raise with a $100 million commitment that pegs Skild's valuation at around $4.5 billion. While Nvidia is leaning in to expand its “physical AI” footprint, Samsung sees this as a low-risk way to stay close to the action—especially with local rivals like LG, Hanwha, and Mirae Asset also quietly joining the round with $5–10 million each.
For Nvidia, this isn't just another side bet. The company has been steadily positioning itself as the engine room behind autonomous machines—offering chips, software, and developer tools for what it calls physical AI. Skild could slot neatly into that narrative. Samsung, on the other hand, appears to be taking a more cautious view. Insiders say the Korean giant doesn't rate all of Skild's solutions as best-in-class, but it still wants access to the startup's team and roadmap. This isn't Samsung's first robotics foray either. It's invested in Physical Intelligence, controls a stake in Rainbow Robotics, and is preparing to launch the Ballie robot with Google—a soccer-ball-shaped bot that can project video onto walls.
Meanwhile, the broader robotics land grab is gaining momentum. Tesla (TSLA, Financial) is prepping its Optimus robot for commercialization. Apple (AAPL, Financial), Meta (META, Financial), Google (GOOG, Financial), and Amazon (AMZN, Financial) are also racing to build their own next-gen humanoids. These aren't just futuristic moonshots anymore—they're shaping up to be real businesses. And Skild's latest round, backed by three of the world's biggest tech investors, signals just how serious this new frontier is becoming. The physical world might be robotics' next platform—and no one wants to be left behind.
