Innovation

Intelligent humanoid robots 'Made in Italy', Generative Bionics raises 70 million

Aiming to bring to market a new generation of robots designed with a focus on design and integration with people

8 December 2025

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The Goal
Opportunity
Proportions and materials

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Generative Bionics - a company founded by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and led by Daniele Pucci - closes a EUR 70 million round, one of the most significant in Europe in deep tech related to humanoid robotics. The aim is to bring to market a new generation of intelligent humanoid robots 'made in Italy' designed, with particular attention to design and integration with people, to operate in industrial contexts and in sectors such as healthcare and retail. Applications include repetitive, high-risk or operationally intensive tasks. The operation is led by CDP Venture Capital's Artificial Intelligence Fund, with the participation of AMD Ventures, Duferco, Eni Next, RoboIT and Tether.

Persone si riuniscono per ascoltare un oratore durante il Consumer Electronics Show (CES) del 2025 al Las Vegas Convention Center di Las Vegas, Nevada USA, il 7 gennaio 2025. Il CES, la più grande fiera annuale di tecnologia di consumo del mondo, è un luogo in cui i produttori del settore, gli inserzionisti e i consumatori attenti alla tecnologia si riuniscono per vedere le nuove innovazioni che arrivano sul mercato ogni anno. Il CES si svolge dal 7 al 10 gennaio 2025. EPA/ALLISON DINNER

L’obiettivo

The operation allows for the integration of skills from IIT: around 70 engineers in the technical department join the company, supported by personnel specialised in management, certification and production for humanoid robots.

The capital raised will accelerate product development, the training of Physical AI systems - the fusion of robotics and artificial intelligence - as well as industrial validation and the construction of the first manufacturing plant. The company is also finalising its first contracts with companies in the industrial manufacturing sector, which will be announced in early 2026, marking the entry of humanoids into real production contexts.

"Our mission is to build a future where intelligent humanoid robots collaborate with people on a daily basis, amplifying the cognitive and physical potential of human beings," says Daniele Pucci, ceo and co-founder of Generative Bionics. "Our 'Physical AI' allows us to design and produce human-inspired robots that generate clear added value for various industrial applications. According to major international analyses, the humanoid robotics market will exceed 200 billion already by 2035 and could exceed 5 trillion by 2050. This is a momentous transformation: our goal is to become the leading player in Physical AI for humanoid robots integrated in a human-centric technology ecosystem'.

L’opportunità

The development of intelligent humanoid robotics "today represents an unmissable opportunity for our country to leverage distinctive scientific and industrial skills, in order to assert itself in a market characterised by generative growth trends," says Alessandro Scortecci, Director of Direct Investments at CDP Venture Capital. "The collaboration between CDP Venture Capital and Generative Bionics began with an initial investment in the prototyping phase, through the RoboIT Technology Transfer Pole, and is strengthened today with the entry of our Artificial Intelligence Fund and the world-class investors we have involved. We are convinced that this team has the potential to make Generative Bionics a European and global champion, capable of positioning Italy among the leaders in technological choices in the sector, combining industrial priorities with the cultural principles that guide our vision'.

Generative Bionics brings with it over twenty years of research, development and prototyping of humanoid robots at IIT and was established in July 2024 on the initiative of Daniele Pucci, Alessio Del Bue, Marco Maggiali and Andrea Pagnin - all from IIT - with the entrepreneurial support of Davide Rota and Jeffrey Libshutz, who also co-founded the initiative. IIT has granted the company an exclusive licence for the core technologies developed in Italy, including those developed in collaboration with INAIL in the area of Physical AI.

"With the launch of Generative Bionics, the Italian Institute of Technology 'puts on the ground' another fundamental piece of its mission to support the national production system, contributing in the field of next-generation robotics," says Giorgio Metta, scientific director of IIT.

Proportions and materials

Underpinning Generative Bionics' humanoids are the technologies developed in the Italian Institute of Technology's main robotics projects: iCub, the cognitive robot for research; ergoCub, the humanoid designed with INAIL to support people at work; and iRonCub, the world's only flying humanoid robot. From this experience, the company has defined three technological pillars for the new generation of 'Made in Italy' humanoids: a network of distributed tactile and force sensors, derived from iCub, that guarantees safe physical interaction; a Physical AI architecture, developed with ergoCub, that allows humanoids to be designed for specific applications and to be made to learn from the real environment; and advanced AI methods, developed with iRonCub, that enable the robot to adapt to extreme operating conditions. Together, these elements enable humanoids capable of operating reliably and safely in real-world contexts.

To complete the picture, a Made in Italy design with attention to proportions, materials and the aesthetic relationship with humans. The complete version of the first humanoid - a synthesis of these technological and design elements - will have its international premiere at CES in Las Vegas, scheduled to take place from 6 to 9 January.