Robotics dispatch — TUE · 11 AUG 2026

Launch

Chinese robot maker

Chinese robotics maker's IPO draws a frenzy of retail demand, suggesting appetite for physical AI plays despite regulatory uncertainty.

Chinese robot maker’s IPO 5,500 times oversubscribed by retail investors · Financial Times

Launch

Figure AI

Figure AI's Figure 03 humanoid robot demonstrated autonomous ladder climbing, expanding the machine's repertoire beyond ground-level tasks.

Figure 03 Humanoid Robot Climbs Ladder Autonomously in New Demo · TechRepublic

Launch

Agility Robotics

Agility Robotics has released Digit V5, a commercial humanoid robot designed for warehouse work, marking the company's first deployment outside controlled environments.

Digit V5: First Humanoid Robot Out Of The Cage? · Forbes

Launch

Amazon · Zoox

Amazon's Zoox launches its first paid autonomous taxi service in the United States, moving the company from testing to revenue-generating operations.

Amazon's robotaxi Zoox launches first paid service in U.S. · Mashable

Launch

Kodiak Robotics · Atlas Energy

Kodiak Robotics has logged 40,000 autonomous driving hours and deepened its partnership with Atlas Energy, signaling real deployment traction in long-haul trucking.

40,000 driverless hours and counting: Kodiak expands Atlas Energy partnership · FleetOwner

Launch

FlybyOps

FlybyOps launched an enterprise platform designed to manage beyond-visual-line-of-sight and autonomous drone operations at scale.

FlybyOps Unveils Enterprise Platform to Scale BVLOS and Autonomous Drone Operations · uasweekly.com

Launch

U.S. Navy

The U.S. Navy has deployed a new autonomous submarine drone designed to conduct underwater surveillance and reconnaissance missions against adversaries.

U.S. Navy’s New Autonomous Submarine Drone Unlocks New Fear for America’s Enemies · autoevolution

Launch

Autonocion

A 132-pound American drone conducted a North Sea seabed survey at depths its manufacturer explicitly warns against, resolving high-resolution imaging tasks a crewed ship would have required.

A 132-pound American drone two people can lift off a tailgate went into the North Sea instead of a crewed survey ship and picked out everything down to a one-meter cube on the bottom, and its own maker says do not use it below 20 meters of seabed · Autonocion.com

Launch

FlyOx

FlyOx is introducing its FlyOx 1 heavy-lift autonomous aircraft to the Canadian market.

FlyOx 1 Heavy-Lift Autonomous Aircraft Set for Canadian Introduction · Unmanned Systems Technology

Launch

Raytheon · Composite Energy Technologies — Jen Gauthier, Chase Hogoboom

Raytheon and Composite Energy Technologies demonstrated underwater launch capability for their HADALUS drone, a potential game-changer for Navy operations.

Autonomous underwater drone launches submerged payload after 18 months of development · Interesting Engineering

Launch

Archer Aviation · Boeing

Archer Aviation is acquiring Boeing's autonomous flight and drone units, consolidating its position in pilotless aircraft development.

Archer To Acquire Boeing Autonomous Flight And Drone Subsidiaries · Aero-News.net

Launch

Swarm Aero

Swarm Aero is developing a mass-produced Group 5 drone to compete for the contract to replace the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper.

Swarm Aero targets MQ-9 Reaper successor with mass-produced Group 5 drone · aerospaceglobalnews.com

Launch

EDGE · Velocity

UAE's EDGE has flown its JERNAS-M surveillance drone, an armed forces adaptation of a civilian kit aircraft with distinctive forward-swept wings.

UAE Flies New Long-Range ISR Drone Born From a Civilian Kit Plane · The Defense Post

Launch

Neura Robotics · Schuster Bestuhlungen

Neura Robotics deployed its MAiRA collaborative arm at German furniture maker Schuster Bestuhlungen to standardize welding without displacing the shop's existing workforce.

How Schuster Bestuhlungen transformed welding without replacing welders · Neura Robotics

Launch

Joby Aviation · Resonant Sciences

Joby Aviation is acquiring defense contractor Resonant Sciences for $500 million to scale its military aircraft and autonomy business alongside its commercial air-taxi ambitions.

Joby Aviation to Scale Defense Business Through Acquisition of Resonant Sciences · Joby Aviation

Opinion

The New York Times reports that humanoid and mobile robots are beginning to enter automotive manufacturing, though the article offers analysis rather than news of a specific deployment or product launch.

Robots That Walk and Talk Are Coming to Car Factories · The New York Times

Opinion

AgiBot · Unitree · Smart Analytics Global · Tesla

AgiBot, a Shanghai startup founded by a former Huawei engineer, shipped 8,400 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, capturing 44% of the global market and unseating Unitree as the industry leader.

Chinese Companies Are Winning The Humanoid Robot Sales Battle. Here’s Why That Doesn’t Matter Yet · Forbes

Opinion

Unitree · Meituan · Tesla · Boston Dynamics — Wang Xingxing

Unitree, a Chinese humanoid robot maker founded by Wang Xingxing, is going public in Shanghai at a valuation suggesting investors believe the company will dominate embodied AI.

Why Are China’s Humanoid Robot Makers Racing to Go Public? · Modern Diplomacy

Opinion

Unitree

Unitree's Humanoid Hype Draws Scrutiny as Valuation Nears $1 Billion

CNBC and Open Magazine both ask whether the enthusiasm around Chinese robotics maker Unitree reflects genuine technological promise or just investor FOMO for anything labeled 'humanoid.' Open Magazine pegs Unitree's valuation at $904 million, framing it as evidence of China's broader gold rush into humanoid robots, while CNBC probes whether the underlying hardware can live up to that price tag.

Read the full story → · Sources: Open Magazine · CNBC

Opinion

Waymo — Tekedra Mawakana

Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana argues that vision-only autonomous systems hit a safety plateau before reaching human-level performance.

Waymo CEO: Vision-Only Self-Driving Safety Curve Flattens “Way Too Early” · CleanTechnica