Voima Ventures sees physical AI value shifting to hardware, proprietary data
XLI•Voima Ventures sees investment value in physical AI shifting toward specialized hardware, proprietary operational data and industry expertise. Robotics venture capital investment doubled year over year to $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026.
1. Investment shifts
Voima Ventures sees investment value in physical AI shifting from general-purpose robot models to specialized hardware, proprietary operational data and industry expertise. Robotics venture capital investment doubled year over year to $9.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026, while cheaper robot models are eroding competitive advantages. The firm says reliable deployments and control over real-world training data are gaining importance, as are safety certification and verification ahead of Europe's Machinery Regulation covering autonomous mobile machines from January 2027.
