Ultra raises $62 million for fast-growing ‘robots as a service’ business, announces tie-up with AI research firm Physical Intelligence

Ultra is betting that the unglamorous side of robotics is where the money is. The Brooklyn startup just raised $62 million across two rounds, and it did it by selling warehouse robots the old-fashioned way: install them, keep them running, and charge monthly.

The bigger round was a $50 million Series A led by Framework Ventures, with Y Combinator in the mix. Before that came a $12 million seed round led by Y Combinator and Next View. At the same time, Ultra said it is deepening its partnership with Physical Intelligence, the AI company that supplies the “brains” for a growing number of robots.

CEO and co-founder Jon Miller Schwartz has a blunt view of the sector. Humanoid robots get the headlines, he says, but the systems actually doing useful work today are usually less glamorous. Ultra’s machines sit in warehouses and third-party logistics sites, where they pack goods for transit. According to the company, they have handled more than half a million shipping orders.

That matters because Ultra’s business model lowers the barrier for customers. Instead of asking warehouses to buy expensive hardware outright, it charges an upfront integration fee and then an ongoing monthly fee for hardware and software support. Schwartz says that approach has created enough demand for Ultra to raise prices, and he says the company has booked significant revenue, though he wouldn’t say how much.

The tie-up with Physical Intelligence gives the setup an extra layer. Ultra handles the building and installation; PI provides the AI that helps the robots adapt to each customer’s setup. PI, valued at $5.6 billion, has become a common supplier for robot makers, and the arrangement also gives it real-world data to train on. Schwartz thinks the humanoid version of this story is about five years away. For now, the warehouse machines are the ones doing the work.