Walden Robotics Raises $300M Seed Round at $1.1B Valuation

Humanoid robotics startup Walden Robotics, spun out from the Toyota Research Institute, has raised approximately $300 million in seed funding at a $1.1 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. According to ChainCatcher, the round was co-led by Deviation Capital and Toyota Motor, with participation from Toyota's strategic investment and early-stage venture arm, as well as Nvidia, Boeing, AE Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and CoreWeave Ventures. Walden is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and develops proprietary hardware, software, and AI models for deploying general-purpose robots in manufacturing and logistics facilities to handle labor-intensive tasks. Co-founder Russ Tedrake said the company has begun selling humanoid robots to clients across multiple industries, including pilot projects at Toyota's North American factories, where robots perform repetitive tasks such as loading and unloading auto parts and cleaning equipment. Tedrake previously held a senior role at the Toyota Research Institute and taught robotics at MIT.