Agility Robotics is about to pour a bucket of cold water on the current craze for humanoid robots on Wall Street.
This startup, headquartered in Oregon, has bipedal robots that can carry heavy objects and sort goods in factories and warehouses. It is expected to begin trading on NASDAQ on Thursday, becoming the first U.S. company listed that focuses on humanoid robots. Its financial disclosures show that there is still a long way to go before this industry can turn robotics into a profitable business.
According to the merged documents, Agility had revenue of only $1.8 million last year and a net loss of $138.1 million. More than half of its income came from 5 robots purchased by one investor.
Agility completed a merger and listing with a special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp XI led by former Citibank executive Michael Klein. The transaction was finalized on Wednesday. The merged company is expected to start trading under the code AGLT on Thursday's opening market.
Agility CEO Peggy Johnson said to Business Insider: "Pioneers always have their significance. We will be able to set many indicators, if you will, to define customers' needs for humanoid robots." Johnson has previously led Magic Leap and has worked at Microsoft and Qualcomm.
The valuation of the existing equity of Agility in this merger is approximately $2.5 billion. The company expects to receive a total of about $465 million before deducting expenses, including the $100 million that has already been received.
Mergers and acquisitions were very popular in 2020 and 2021, but then cooled down rapidly as interest rates rose in 2022. With the IPO market warming up again, such transactions are once again attracting attention. Johnson indicates that Agility chose this path in order to introduce Klein; he is a well-known SPAC initiator who has helped Sam Altman support the nuclear power company Oklo and electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid in going public.
ABI Research Chief Analyst George Chowdhury said about Business Insider: “Agility is unique in the industry because they have actually deployed products. Overall, the scale of these deployments is still small, but they are of great significance for commercial humanoid robots.”
Agility has deployed its humanoid robot Digit in 9 customer facilities, including those of Amazon, Toyota, and the logistics company GXO. Its investors include Amazon, Foxconn, NVIDIA, SoftBank, as well as Silicon Valley venture capital firms DCVC.
The losses of Agility are not just figures on paper. The documents show that out of its net loss of $138.1 million, approximately $38 million came from non-cash expenses related to employee stock incentives; at the same time, the company used $99.8 million in cash in 2025 to maintain its operations. Even before research and development and other corporate expenditures, Agility's sales resulted in a loss of $2.7 million.
The company stated in the SEC document: "We anticipate that there will be further losses and higher operating expenses in the foreseeable future."
Robot analyst, Substack column, Core Matter author, Michelle Sun said about Business Insider: "There are many challenges in addressing unit economics."
Agility bets on its latest robot, Digit, by 5 times to expand its business. The design goal of Digit is to be able to work safely in the vicinity of people without the need for the safety barriers required by earlier versions.
Company documents show that they have received an order from a single customer worth over 3 million US dollars, involving 1,000 robots. The customer will pay for the use of these robots over a period of three years. However, these orders depend on whether Agility can complete the delivery on time and provide the promised functions.
The goal for Agility is to be delivered in the first half of 2027 and to achieve widespread availability by the end of that year.
The company's public debut highlights the significant divergence in valuations among humanoid robot companies.
With a valuation of $2.5 billion, Agility is valued lower than some of its unlisted humanoid robot competitors. These include Figure AI, which is headquartered in the Bay Area and has a valuation of around $39 billion; Apptronik, based in Texas, with a valuation of about $5.5 billion; and Neura Robotics, located in Germany, with a valuation of approximately $7 billion. Tesla is also developing its own humanoid robot, Optimus, but this project does not have a separate valuation.
Chowdhury indicates: "We observe a trend: companies that have already deployed and are shipping hardware today are valued much lower by the market compared to those that are betting on this future."
Sun indicates that the listing of Agility will provide a reference point for how the public market will price a company that manufactures humanoid robots; this design still remains controversial among experts and investors.
The launch of Agility comes as Washington tightens restrictions on foreign-made robots, potentially giving U.S. manufacturers an advantage. In July, the Federal Communications Commission banned new foreign-made "advanced robotic devices," including humanoid robots, quadruped robots, and some robotic vacuum cleaners. Agility is manufactured in an Oregon factory. Digit.
Currently, the humanoid robot market is dominated by Chinese companies, such as Yushu Technology. Yushu Technology went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange this summer, with a market value of approximately $40 billion. According to Omdia data, Chinese robot companies accounted for about 90% of the global shipments of humanoid robots last year.
Johnson to Business Insider: "It's a good thing for the United States to demonstrate its strength in this field."
