Bringing Jobs Back To The US Via … Robots? Standard Bots Raises $200 Million
Standard Bots, a U.S.-based robotics company, raised $200 million in Series C funding at a $1 billion valuation to accelerate AI-native robot adoption in American manufacturing, aiming to boost competitiveness and job growth. The company claims its robots, which learn tasks through demonstration, will help reverse the decline of manufacturing jobs and close the gap with China’s industrial robot deployment lead.
Standard Bots, a Glen Cove, New York-based robotics firm, announced a $200 million Series C funding round, bringing its valuation to $1 billion. The company argues that its AI-native robot arms and humanoid robots—programmed by demonstration rather than code—will make advanced automation accessible to U.S. manufacturers, particularly small and mid-sized businesses. CEO Evan Beard claims this will reverse the decline of manufacturing jobs, which dropped from 20 million in 1979 to 13 million today, by improving competitiveness and driving growth. The company cites China’s dominance in industrial robot adoption, with 295,000 units installed in 2024—nearly 54% of the global total—as a key reason for its push. Standard Bots aims to deliver 10% of new U.S. industrial robot deployments by 2025 and plans to manufacture all robot components domestically by 2027. The funding was led by RoboStrategy and General Catalyst, which previously backed the company’s $63 million 2024 round. Backers highlight Standard Bots’ solution to a major automation challenge: creating robots that are both powerful and usable without specialized programming. The company cites a 2025 University of Minnesota study suggesting automation can increase job growth by 150% in certain sectors. Beard emphasizes that AI-native robots will act as ‘the essential power tool of the 21st century,’ enabling American workers to thrive in advanced manufacturing. Despite skepticism about whether robots create more jobs than they displace, Standard Bots insists its approach will unlock long-term growth. The company’s customers include major firms like Sunoco, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, NASA, and the U.S. Army, alongside smaller manufacturers. With the new funding, Standard Bots is positioning itself to reshape U.S. manufacturing by making automation more accessible and domestically produced.
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