Tether deepens AI bet, backs Italian firm’s humanoid robots

Stablecoin giant Tether has announced it is one of the backers of an $81 million funding round for an Italian artificial intelligence startup aiming to build advanced humanoid robots. 

The 70 million euro funding round for startup Generative Bionics was led by the AI fund of CDP Venture Capital, with participation from Tether, AMD Ventures, Duferco, Eni Next and RoboIT.

In an announcement on Monday, Tether said it provided capital to support the development of advanced humanoid robots, “built for industrial scale performance” and “human-centric interaction.” 

“Tether’s investment will support the development of Physical AI systems and edge AI solutions, and accelerate the industrial validation of the company’s humanoid platform, the development of its first production facility, and its integration in the broader robotics ecosystem,” Tether said. 

Generative Bionics is an AI startup and research spinoff from the Italian Institute of Technology. Its focus is on building humanoid robots with “real-world physical AI capabilities” such as industrial usability in factory production lines. 

“Tether’s support for Generative Bionics builds on its broader strategy to back emerging technologies that expand human potential while reducing reliance on centralized systems overseen by Big Tech,” Tether said.  

According to Tether, the firm focuses on five areas of investment. These include: finance, power, data, education and evolution, with AI investments such as these falling under the category of evolution.  

With a healthy balance sheet in 2025, the firm has made a series of investments across multiple sectors. In terms of AI, it was reported in mid-November that the firm was considering a hefty $1.15 billion investment in German AI robotics startup Neura.   

In the announcement, Tether also highlighted some other AI plays it has supported.  

“This includes investments in brain-computer interfaces via Blackrock Neurotech and recent AI initiatives such as Tether’s collaboration with Northern Data and Rumble to deploy a 20,000-GPU global compute network for open, privacy-preserving AI development,” Tether said.