Generative Bionics closes a €70 million funding round, making it one of the most significant in Europe in deep tech related to humanoid robotics. The operation is led by CDP Venture Capital’s Artificial Intelligence Fund, with the participation of AMD Ventures, Duferco, Eni Next, RoboIT and Tether. .
The company, led by Daniele Pucci (pictured), aims to bring to market a new generation of intelligent humanoid robots made in Italy, designed with a focus on aesthetics and integration with people, to operate in industrial contexts and sectors such as healthcare and retail. Applications include repetitive, high-risk or high-intensity tasks.
The operation allows for the integration of expertise from the Italian Institute of Technology: around 70 engineers in the technical sector are joining the company, supported by personnel specialised in the management, certification and production of humanoid robots.
The capital raised will enable the company to accelerate product development, training of physical AI systems, the fusion of robotics and artificial intelligence, as well as industrial validation and the construction of its first production facility. The company is also finalising its first contracts with companies in the industrial manufacturing sector, which will be announced in early 2026, marking the entry of humanoids into real-world production environments.
“Our mission is to build a future in which intelligent humanoid robots collaborate with people on a daily basis, amplifying the cognitive and physical potential of human beings,” said Daniele Pucci, CEO and co-founder of Generative Bionics, in a statement. “Our physical AI allows us to design and manufacture human-inspired robots that generate clear added value for various industrial applications. According to leading international analyses, the humanoid robotics market will exceed €200 billion by 2035 and could exceed €5 trillion by 2050. This is an epoch-making transformation: our goal is to become the leading player in Physical AI for humanoid robots integrated into a human-centric technological ecosystem.
“The development of intelligent humanoid robotics represents an unmissable opportunity for our country to leverage its distinctive scientific and industrial expertise and establish itself in a market characterised by generational growth trends,” says Alessandro Scortecci, Director of Direct Investments at CDP Venture Capital. . “The collaboration between CDP Venture Capital and Generative Bionics began with an initial investment in the prototyping phase, through the RoboIT Technology Transfer Hub, and is now being strengthened with the entry of our Artificial Intelligence Fund and the international investors we have involved. We are convinced that this team has the potential to make Generative Bionics a European and global champion, capable of positioning Italy among the leaders in technological choices in the sector, combining industrial priorities with the cultural principles that guide our vision.”
Generative Bionics brings with it over twenty years of research, development and prototyping of humanoid robots at IIT and was founded in July 2024, with an investment from RoboIT, CDP Venture Capital’s technology transfer hub, on the initiative of Daniele Pucci, Alessio Del Bue (chief artificial intelligence officer), Marco Maggiali (chief technology officer), Andrea Pagnin (chief business officer), all from IIT, with the entrepreneurial support of Davide Rota (executive chairman) and Jeffrey Libshutz, also co-founders of the start-up. IIT has granted the company an exclusive licence for key technologies developed in Italy, including those developed in collaboration with INAIL in the field of physical AI.
“With the launch of Generative Bionics, the Italian Institute of Technology has laid another fundamental cornerstone in its mission to support the national production system, contributing to the latest generation of robotics,” said Giorgio Metta, scientific director of IIT. . “Twenty years have passed since we launched the iCub project, the IIT’s flagship platform, which laid the solid technological foundations for the Institute’s development of humanoid robotics.”, training hundreds of researchers, patenting and transferring various cutting-edge technical solutions to industry. Generative Bionics is the culmination of this work: the transfer of science to industry. Generative Bionics demonstrates that continuous and stable support for Italian research leads to concrete and exceptional results. Generative Bionics is the largest academic spin-off in Europe now entering the global market.
Generative Bionics humanoids are based on technologies developed in major robotics projects at the Italian Institute of Technology: iCub, the cognitive robot for research; ergoCub, the humanoid designed with INAIL to support people at work; and iRonCub, the only flying humanoid robot in the world. From this experience, the company has defined three technological pillars for the new generation of humanoids made in Italy: a network of distributed tactile and force sensors, derived from iCub, which ensures safe physical interaction; a physical AI architecture, developed with ergoCub, which allows humanoids to be designed for specific applications and to learn from the real environment; and advanced AI methods, developed with iRonCub, which allow the robot to adapt to extreme operating conditions. Together, these elements enable humanoids to operate reliably and safely in real-world contexts.
To complete the picture, a Made in Italy design with attention to proportions, materials and aesthetic relationship with human beings. The complete version of the first humanoid, a synthesis of technological and design elements, will be previewed internationally at CES in Las Vegas, scheduled for 6–9 January 2026.
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