Tether Investments, the investment arm of stablecoin issuer Tether, is leading a funding round of up to $1.4 billion in NEURA Robotics, backing one of the largest private investments to date in humanoid and cognitive robotics, the company announced Wednesday. Other participants include Amazon, NVIDIA, Qualcomm Technologies, Bosch, Schaeffler and the European Investment Bank.

“As robotics moves beyond scripted automation and into true autonomy, the infrastructure behind it must evolve as well. Autonomous machines need the ability to process information locally, make decisions, and transact without relying on centralized intermediaries,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino discussed the move.

NEURA develops a range of robotic platforms, including humanoid robots, precision robotic arms, autonomous mobile systems and service robots, and has secured strategic partnerships and enterprise customers across multiple industries.

The German tech company is centering its future on Neuraverse, an open, integrated software ecosystem. The platform functions as a unified architecture that seamlessly blends robotics, artificial intelligence, edge computing, and digital services.

“The future of AI will not only live on screens,” David Reger, CEO of NEURA Robotics, stated. “It will move, interact, learn and work beside us in the real world. We believe Physical AI and cognitive robotics will become one of the largest technology shifts of the coming decades, transforming industries ranging from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare, services and household robotics.”

The fresh capital will be used to expand deployment of humanoid robots, grow the Neuraverse platform, establish additional NEURA Gyms training facilities, increase manufacturing capacity and advance future Physical AI systems.

“Physical AI represents the next major evolution of computing, extending intelligence into real-world environments. Robotics is one of the most demanding edge AI use cases, where systems must perceive, reason and act instantly, reliably and on device for safety-critical applications,” Nakul Duggal, executive vice president and general manager of automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and robotics at Qualcomm Technologies, said. “By combining our leading edge AI capabilities, high-performance computing and connectivity with NEURA’s Neuraverse platform, we are helping accelerate the deployment of intelligent machines that can operate safely and efficiently alongside humans across industries.”

The company is also investing in open AI ecosystems and infrastructure that enable robots to exchange skills, knowledge and operational data across global deployments.

“This investment is a natural extension of our strategic partnership with NEURA Robotics and our shared conviction in the transformative potential of Physical AI. Amazon brings the global cloud infrastructure and AI tech stack that Physical AI demands at scale,” Nafea Bshara, vice president and distinguished engineer at Amazon, commented.

As part of the partnership between Tether and NEURA, Tether will contribute technology alongside capital, including the integration of its Wallet Development Kit to enable robots to receive payments and conduct transactions without centralized intermediaries.

“QVAC brings that edge-first intelligence to the platform while WDK handles the secure financial layer, together enabling machines to execute tasks, account for outcomes, and operate independently. NEURA Robotics shares that vision, and this investment reflects our confidence in what autonomous robotics can become,” Ardoino stated.

NEURA will also work with Tether to test and deploy the QVAC edge AI runtime, which enables artificial intelligence models to run directly on devices and reduce dependence on cloud infrastructure.