Generalist, a two-year-old robotics startup, has raised nearly $200 million in fresh capital at a $3 billion valuation, according to sources familiar with the deal. The extension round, led by 8VC, follows a $400 million Series B announced in June that valued the company at $2 billion. Combined, the two tranches total $600 million for the round.
The company was founded in 2024 by Pete Florence and Andy Zeng, both former Google DeepMind researchers, along with Andrew Barry, a former Boston Dynamics engineer. Generalist is developing an AI foundation model designed to enable robots to learn new tasks from short video demonstrations, claiming its Gen 1.5 model can master tasks after seeing just 3–12 seconds of footage.
Generalist is working with a small group of customers to refine the model for specific applications, though it faces stiff competition from Physical Intelligence, Skild AI, and Genesis AI. Investors are betting the sector may be approaching a “ChatGPT moment” for robotics, though some warn that a truly general-purpose model remains years away due to training limitations.
