Agility Robotics is going public, but home bots are years away

Agility Robotics, this humanoid robotics company, is going public through a merger with Michael Klein's Churchill Capital Corp XI SPAC, valuing the Oregon-based firm at roughly $2.5 billion. CEO Peggy Johnson is betting on warehouse execution—not consumer hype—and says a robot in your home is at least 10-plus years away.

While rivals like Figure AI chase multibillion-dollar private valuations, Agility is choosing a different path. The Salem, Oregon company announced the SPAC deal just before TechCrunch spoke with Johnson, who struck a notably measured tone for a sector awash in funding.

Key Takeaways

• Agility Robotics plans to list via Churchill Capital Corp XI in a deal valued at about $2.5 billion, with more than $620 million in expected gross proceeds.
• CEO Peggy Johnson says the company is focused on warehouses and factories, not home delivery robots, for at least the next 10-plus years.
• Agility reports more than $300 million in booked, multi-year revenue tied to roughly 1,000 robots under a robots-as-a-service model.
• The merger would make Agility the first pure-play humanoid robotics company on public markets, pending shareholder approval and SEC review.

Why is this humanoid robotics company going public now?

Johnson told TechCrunch the SPAC route is partly about timing. As the first humanoid robotics firm heading to public markets, Agility offers investors an acceleration story and a timing story in a buzzy field that has mostly been closed to retail buyers.

The structure also sidesteps a traditional IPO roadshow while still raising serious capital. The deal is expected to generate more than $620 million in gross proceeds—the largest capital raise in humanoid robotics history, according to the company—though it has not closed and still requires shareholder approval and SEC review later this year.

How will Agility Robotics use the SPAC proceeds?

Johnson said the funding will help Agility scale production at its 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Salem and fulfill an existing pipeline of customer orders. Customers already include GXO Logistics, Amazon, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Schaeffler, and Mercado Libre.

Agility's flagship robot, Digit, stands about 5'9", weighs around 160 pounds, and moves heavy objects in human-built spaces using distinctive reverse-bend bird legs. The company draws on large language models including Claude and Gemini for high-level instructions, but Johnson emphasized that a decade of real-world deployment—and industrial safety certification—forms its core edge. For more coverage of robots, AI hardware, and the companies shaping automation, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders section.

When could a humanoid robot live in your home?

Not soon, according to Johnson. She told TechCrunch that home deployment is 10-plus years away. Warehouses and factories may be complex, but they offer fixed aisles and predictable workflows.

Homes are messier—dogs, babies, visitors, and clutter in unexpected places make the task far harder. Johnson compared the challenge to autonomous vehicles, noting that most spaces humanoids will enter lack the discipline of roads. Agility is not ruling out the consumer market forever, but Johnson said it will enter when it makes sense.

How does Agility stack up against rival humanoid startups?

The contrast is sharp. AI2 Robotics recently raised nearly $735 million at a nearly $3 billion valuation. Apptronik closed a $935 million round earlier this year at more than $5.5 billion. Figure AI reported $1 billion in Series C funding last fall at a $39 billion valuation.

At $2.5 billion, Agility's pre-money valuation looks modest by comparison. Johnson declined forward-looking financial guidance and would not disclose Digit's bill of materials. Her message to investors and skeptics alike: execution matters more than hype—and the biggest competitor is Agility itself.