Humanoid Robot Maker Agility Goes Public Through SPAC Deal

Agility, a US humanoid robot maker, is becoming a publicly traded company by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC, a listed shell company that lets a business reach the stock market without a traditional offering). The deal will bring in $465 million from private investors and retail investors, Agility CEO Peggy Johnson told TechCrunch.

Focus on simple work

Agility was spun out of Oregon State University in 2015 by researchers working on safe walking on two legs. Unlike rivals such as Figure, Tesla, 1X or Boston Dynamics, it does not showcase acrobatic stunts. It focuses on repetitive manual jobs that are hard to staff. Its Digit robots work for nine customers, including Schaeffler, GXO, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada and Mercado Libre, mainly moving heavy totes. At one GXO logistics facility, that has meant more than 100,000 of them.

Finances and the next generation

In the first six months of 2026, the company's revenue was only $174,000, mostly from related parties, while its losses reached $362 million. Agility says it has $300 million in planned contracts from 30 customers for Digit 5, its new robot. Digit 5 can operate safely around people, not only inside an isolated work cell. The deals depend on undisclosed targets such as throughput, uptime and placement accuracy. Digit 5 is due to be demonstrated at CES 2027 and widely available at the end of that year.

The company says a robot can save a customer $100,000 a year. It can place heavy loads with 98% accuracy but, like most robots today, cannot yet perform complex manipulation tasks. Johnson said the new capital covers current needs but would not predict it will be enough for the company to become self-sustaining. The company's production facility could build 10,000 robots a year.