Agility Robotics to go public via SPAC, targeting warehouse automation

Agility Robotics, a developer of bipedal robots for industrial use, said it will merge with Churchill Capital Corp XI, a special purpose acquisition company, in a deal that would value the firm at roughly $2.5 billion and generate more than $620 million in gross proceeds. The transaction, pending shareholder approval and regulatory review, would make Agility the first pure-play humanoid robotics company listed on a public exchange.

Founded in 2015 as a spin-off from Oregon State University, Agility builds the Digit robot, a 5-foot-9-inch, 160-pound machine designed to move heavy items in warehouses and factories. The company plans to use the SPAC proceeds to increase output at its 70,000-square-foot Salem, Oregon facility and to fulfill an existing order backlog.

"Our biggest competitor right now is just us. How quickly we can execute, how quickly we can continue to add new skills," CEO Peggy Johnson told TechCrunch.

Johnson, a former Microsoft executive and Magic Leap chief, declined to provide forward-looking financial guidance or detailed cost data for Digit. She said the SPAC route was chosen to capitalize on first-mover advantage and to give retail investors exposure to a sector that has largely been funded by venture capital.

Agility reports more than $300 million in booked, multi-year revenue tied to a robots-as-a-service model, covering roughly 1,000 units. Customers include GXO Logistics, Amazon, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Schaeffler and Mercado Libre.

The robot’s design features reverse-bend knees that enable it to reach from floor level to overhead shelving without colliding with racks, and task-specific hands optimized for gripping heavy plastic totes. Agility describes its software as “LLM-agnostic,” using large language models such as Claude and Gemini to translate high-level commands into robot actions. In a recent demonstration, Digit sorted and disposed of assorted trash after being instructed to clean a mess.

Johnson emphasized that safety certification and real-world testing differentiate Agility from competitors that rely on laboratory demos. She noted that the company must meet industrial safety standards for electrical systems, components and software before robots can operate alongside humans.

While Johnson believes humanoid robots could eventually enter homes, she cautioned that such applications are at least a decade away because domestic environments are far less predictable than warehouses. For now, Agility is focusing on addressing labor shortages in physically demanding warehouse roles, which she said affect over a million jobs in the United States.