Artificial intelligence is moving beyond the cloud and into the physical world, with robotics emerging as the critical execution layer driving real-world deployment, says investment researcher BestBrokers.
HOW ROBOTICS IS BECOMING AI’ S EXECUTION LAYER
rtificial intelligence has spent the
A better part of the past decade dazzling the world with its ability to generate text, design chips and model complex systems. But in 2026, a subtle yet profound shift is underway: AI is leaving the confines of the cloud and stepping into the physical world. The catalyst? Robotics.
Once considered a niche or hardware-heavy outlier in the broader tech ecosystem, robotics is now emerging as the critical bridge between digital intelligence and real-world execution. And the numbers suggest this is not a slow transition – it is an inflection point.
The rise of‘ Physical AI’
Recent months have seen a surge of interest in what industry leaders increasingly call‘ Physical AI’- the integration of advanced machine learning models with autonomous systems capable of acting in real environments. The trend has been spotlighted at major industry gatherings such as NVIDIA’ s GTC and CES 2026, where robotics demonstrations have taken centre stage alongside generative AI.
Funding activity reinforces the narrative. USbased Mind Robotics raised a US $ 500m Series A round, while Rhoda AI secured US $ 450m. These are not isolated bets – they are part of a broader wave of capital flowing into companies that promise to operationalise AI beyond screens and servers.
“ AI defines the intelligence layer, while robotics is fast becoming the execution layer,” said Alan Goldberg of investment researcher BestBrokers, whose team recently analysed global unicorn trends.“ What was once experimental automation is increasingly becoming commercial infrastructure.”
A record year for unicorns
The robotics boom is unfolding within a broader surge in high-value private companies. According to data BestBrokers compiled from Crunchbase and PitchBook, 70 start-ups
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