Generative Bionics has raised €70 million in one of Europe’s largest deep tech funding rounds focused on humanoid robotics. The funding strengthens the company’s position as a leading Italian spin-off in advanced robotics, founded out of the Italian Institute of Technology and guided by CEO Daniele Pucci. The round was led by CDP Venture Capital’s Artificial Intelligence Fund and included participation from AMD Ventures, Duferco, Eni Next, RoboIT, and Tether.
The capital infusion positions the company to accelerate development of a new generation of intelligent humanoid robots built in Italy and designed for safe, efficient operation in industrial environments. The company’s technology blends robotics, advanced artificial intelligence, and human-centric design to address high-intensity, hazardous, and repetitive tasks in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and retail. Approximately 70 engineers from IIT are joining the technical division, supplemented by specialists in certification, industrialization, and production.
Funds will support the advancement of Physical AI systems, industrial validation of Generative Bionics’ humanoids, and construction of the company’s first production plant. The company is also completing its first industrial deployment contracts, scheduled for public announcement in early 2026, paving the way for humanoid robots to enter production environments.
Generative Bionics builds on two decades of research and prototyping at IIT. The company, founded in 2024 by Daniele Pucci, Alessio Del Bue, Marco Maggiali and Andrea Pagnin, benefits from exclusive licenses to several core technologies developed in Italy, including technology created in collaboration with INAIL as part of the Physical AI program. Entrepreneurial support has come from Davide Rota and Jeffrey Libshutz, both co-founders of the initiative.
The company’s humanoids leverage advances from IIT’s major robotics projects, including iCub, ergoCub, and iRonCub. These programs underpin three technological pillars: networks of tactile and force sensors enabling safe interaction; a Physical AI architecture that allows robots to learn directly from their environments; and advanced AI for adapting to extreme operational conditions such as high temperatures or challenging outdoor environments. Combined with attention to proportions, material,s and aesthetic integration, these elements reflect a distinctly Italian design philosophy.
The first complete humanoid model integrating these components will debut internationally at CES in Las Vegas. The company seeks to position itself at the forefront of the humanoid robotics market, which international analyses predict will exceed €200 billion by 2035 and could surpass $5 trillion by 2050.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our mission is to build a future where intelligent humanoid robots collaborate daily with people, amplifying human cognitive and physical potential. Our Physical AI enables us to design and manufacture human-inspired robots that create tangible value across multiple applications. According to leading international analyses, the humanoid robotics market will exceed €200 billion by 2035 and could surpass $5 trillion by 2050. This is an epochal transformation: our goal is to position Generative Bionics as a global leader in Physical AI for human-centric humanoid ecosystems.”
Daniele Pucci, CEO and Co-Founder of Generative Bionics
“Today, the development of intelligent humanoid robots represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our country to leverage distinctive scientific and industrial capabilities and compete in a fast-growing market. The collaboration between CDP Venture Capital and Generative Bionics began with an initial investment during the prototyping phase, through the RoboIT Technology Transfer Hub, and is now further strengthened by the entry of our Artificial Intelligence Fund and the international-tier investors we have brought on board. We are confident that this team has the potential to make Generative Bionics a European and global champion, positioning Italy among the leaders in the sector’s technological choices—combining industrial priorities with the cultural principles that guide our vision.”
Alessandro Scortecci, Director of Direct Investments at CDP Venture Capital
“With the launch of Generative Bionics, the Italian Institute of Technology is bringing to fruition another key part of its mission to support Italy’s national industrial system, contributing to the field of cutting-edge, next-generation robotics. Twenty years have passed since we launched the iCub project, IIT’s flagship platform, which laid the solid technological foundations for the Institute’s humanoid robotics program—training hundreds of researchers, patenting and transferring to industry a range of advanced technical solutions. Generative Bionics is the culmination of this work: the transfer of science to industry. It shows that sustained, stable support for Italian research leads to concrete, exceptional results. Generative Bionics is the largest academic spin-off in Europe now entering the global market.”
Giorgio Metta, Scientific Director of IIT
