Formic Raises $50M to Expand Robotics Automation

Mercato Partners led the Series B round for the Robots-as-a-Service provider, which operates across more than 100 U.S. facilities.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Robotics

Isometric editorial illustration of a single industrial robotic arm over a bare steel workbench in a fabrication hall, in oxblood, teal, mustard, and cream. — Formic raised $50 million led by Mercato Partners to expand its Robots-as-a-Service model, which delivers robotic automation to U.S. manufacturers as a recurring monthly payment. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Formic Technologies has raised US$50 million in growth capital led by Mercato Partners, with participation from Light Ray Ventures, Lightscape Partners, Citi and debt financing from S2G Investments. Proceeds will accelerate the company's expansion into general-purpose robotics and metal fabrication.

Why it matters

The financing supports a model that delivers robotic automation to U.S. manufacturers as a recurring service rather than a capital purchase. Formic is positioned as a potential channel for embodied AI to reach American factory floors.

Formic reports fleet uptime of 99.6% across hundreds of robots in more than 100 facilities in over 30 states, with more than 750,000 hours of live production behind the figures. The company has not disclosed the debt portion of the financing or independent verification of its operating metrics.

The players

Formic Technologies

Formic Technologies is a U.S. robotics company that delivers automation to manufacturers through a Robots-as-a-Service model.

Mercato Partners

Mercato Partners is a venture capital firm that led the Series B round in Formic Technologies.

Physical Intelligence

Physical Intelligence is a robotics AI company whose robotic foundation models Formic is adapting for manufacturing.

The details

Formic bundles equipment, deployment software, field operations, maintenance, financing and performance monitoring into a single recurring monthly payment under its Robots-as-a-Service model. Robots are assembled and tested at its Bolingbrook, Illinois facility, while new capabilities are developed at its R&D center in Oakland, California, and the company is adapting Physical Intelligence's robotic foundation models using its production data.

October 22, 2026: Formic issued a news release on its financing and operations.
November 2, 2026: Humanoid Global announced the US$50 million raise from Vancouver, BC.

The Tech Race

Formic's Robots-as-a-Service model converts robotic automation from a capital purchase into a recurring monthly payment, placing it in direct contrast with the traditional outright-sale model of industrial robot vendors. The company's planned expansion into general-purpose robotics and foundation-model adaptation positions it alongside Physical Intelligence in the race to bring embodied AI to factory floors.

For U.S. manufacturers, the Robots-as-a-Service model means automation can be adopted through a single recurring payment that bundles equipment, maintenance and performance monitoring. The arrangement shifts the upfront capital burden and the operational risk of keeping robots running from the manufacturer to the provider.

The takeaway

Manufacturers evaluating automation can compare recurring service pricing against the upfront cost of owning robots outright. Formic's reported uptime and renewal figures are useful benchmarks, though they remain company-reported.