Agility Robotics Goes Public Through SPAC Merger

The Digit humanoid robot is already working with several commercial customers. Agility Robotics Inc. today announced a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital Corp. XI. It said it would become "the only publicly traded humanoid company in the United States with proven active commercial deployments."

Transaction terms and valuation

Agility has developed a bipedal exploration platform, Cassie, and a humanoid robot, Digit, which is currently in commercial testing. The Salem, Ore.-based company expects the SPAC deal to generate more than $620 million in gross proceeds at a valuation of $2.5 billion in pre-investment capital.

“Humanoid robots are a key driver of America's technology leadership and the future of global industry,” said Peggy Johnson, CEO of Agility Robotics. “With commercially deployed humanoids working in real-world customer environments, Agility is at the forefront of a new era where secure AI-powered technologies can reliably work side-by-side with humans to fill workforce shortages, improve productivity and strengthen the resilience of our supply chains.”

“We believe humanoids are at a significant inflection point for commercial adoption, and we are focused on meeting growing customer demand, expanding deployments and advancing our roadmap in robotics, physical AI, security and enterprise software,” she added. “As adoption accelerates, we believe Agility is poised to capture the market opportunity in manufacturing, distribution and logistics in the U.S., which management estimates to be approximately $1 trillion.”

“Companies are not buying technology, they're buying solutions,” Johnson said during an investor briefing. “At Agility that’s exactly what we do. This gets lost in the AI ​​headlines - companies still have to solve real physical problems."

Cooperative security as a basis

Dr. Jonathan Hurst, Dr. Damion Shelton and Mikhail Jones founded Agility Robotics in 2015 as a spinout from Oregon State University's Dynamic Robotics Laboratory. Since then, the company has focused on moving humanoid robots from research and development to actual commercial use, building expertise in robotics, physics AI, security systems and enterprise automation.

“Our mission was to create robots that could perform useful physical work in environments designed for humans, and that mission has been at the forefront of Agility from day one,” said Jonathan Hirst, co-founder and chief roboticist at Agility. “We believe cooperative security is the key to mass adoption of humanoid robots, and our next generation of Digit marks an important step toward a future where robots become trusted partners in the workplace.”

“We looked at hundreds of applications,” he recalls. “And we realized that lifting boxes and containers was a great starting niche.”

Agility says its leadership team has a combined combined over 80 years of commercial experience and over 50 years of technical experience in robotics. CTO Pras Velagupudi participated in a key panel discussion at the Robotics Summit & Expo last month on the state of humanoid robot development.

Characteristics of Digit v5

The company says Digit v5 is designed for environments where humans and robots work together, expanding the range of tasks that can be automated. It will be able to lift up to 50 pounds (22.7 kg - 40% more than the v4), run for about 22 hours on a single charge, and reach a height of 7.2 feet (2.1 m).

The robot's physical AI platform allows it to sense, understand and interact with the physical world while safely operating in complex, human-centric environments, Agility explains. The company, which changed its name from Agility Robotics to simply "Agility" in March, notes that data from expanding real-world deployments is continually improving these capabilities as new skills are learned.

Agility counts among its technology partners Google DeepMind and NVIDIA, which selected it as a launch partner for NVIDIA Halos, a full-stack security system for physical AI and humanoid robots. NVIDIA IGX Thor is also used.

Production infrastructure

To support commercial scale, Agility said it has built the necessary manufacturing, hardware, supply chain and deployment infrastructure. This includes RoboFab, a full-fledged modular manufacturing facility in Salem, Oregon, capable of producing up to 10,000 units per year.

Agility also has offices in Pittsburgh and Fremont, California. The company says it owns most of Digit's most valuable hardware systems and sources approximately 75% of the robot's parts in the United States.

Agility Arc is a cloud-based automation platform for integrating Digit into customer operations. It allows you to deploy robots, manage fleets and manage operations across multiple sites. The platform provides information about the robot's health and integrates with warehouse management systems (WMS), Hurst says.

Commercial implementations of Digit

Agility Robotics says its flagship robot is “a versatile humanoid machine designed to do the job.” After more than ten years of development, Digit is now working in manufacturing, warehouses and logistics, filling the chronic shortage of physical labor. In 2024, Digit earned Agility its first RBR50 Robot of the Year award - as one of the first humanoid robots to enter commercial trials with Amazon and GXO Logistics. And in 2026, he was recognized for moving more than 100,000 containers for GXO last year.

The Digit v4 can carry up to 15.8 kg, reach 1.6 meters and run for 16 hours on a single charge. Digit currently works at Schaeffler, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada and Mercado Libre, automating routine physical tasks such as machine maintenance and sorting. The robot has accumulated more than 65,000 operating hours at nine customer sites and has proven that it can operate safely and reliably in real-world production environments.

These deployments have spun Agility's data flywheel, as the company collects more of its own real-world operational data to improve its embedded AI systems, speed up the development of new features, and expand the range of tasks Digit can perform.

Preparing to launch Digit v5

Agility is preparing for the commercial launch of Digit v5. The company has already received orders for this model worth more than $300 million - however, with the caveat that they will come into force if certain contractual conditions are met. “What we've learned from commercial deployments is that the biggest barrier to adoption is security,” says Hurst. - Once we launch Digit v5, it will be a tipping point for humanoid robots. Our robot will be able to go beyond a fenced area or work cell and move around warehouses and workshops.”

Through its Customer Acceleration Program, Agility helps potential customers evaluate and prepare for large-scale deployment of humanoid robots - from pilot to full deployment. Digit can be taken on a robot-as-a-service (RaaS) model or purchased outright for quick time-to-value, explains Jennifer Hunter, Agility's director of finance and operations. The cost of Digit v4 components is $125,000, and the company hopes to reduce it as production volumes increase. According to Hunter, the order book already includes more than 30 clients, which indicates growing demand from enterprises. In addition, Agility plans to license some of its technology, Johnson adds. The SPAC merger deal is intended to help the company ramp up production and scale up deployments.

Source: Agility Robotics

Investors and partners

Agility has strategic investors and partners from the AI, technology, venture capital and industry sectors: DCVC, NVIDIA, Amazon, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Schaeffler, Foxconn, Abico and Playground Global. Churchill XI said that of the $620 million in gross proceeds from the deal, $420 million will come from the company's trust account (assuming no buyouts). An additional approximately $200 million will be raised through a $10-a-share private placement of shares (PIPE) led by Foxconn with participation from leading existing and new institutional investors.

“Churchill Capital is proud to partner with companies that are shaping the future of technology and commerce,” said Michael Klein, Chairman and CEO of Churchill Capital Corp XI. - Agility is a pioneer in humanoid robots with proven technology, real-world deployments and the trust of the world's most demanding businesses. We are excited to support Peggy, Jonathan and the Agility team as they scale Digit, strengthen their leadership in physical AI, and create long-term value for shareholders.”

Recent SPAC acquisitions include autonomous cargo developer Einride and autonomous flight developer Merlin. In 2021, Berkshire Gray, Sarcos, Symbotic and Vicarious Surgical entered into SPAC deals. The boards of directors of Agility and Churchill XI unanimously approved the proposed business combination, and 100% of Agility's current shareholders will convert their interests into shares of the combined company. All existing Agility shareholders will be locked in for 180 days following the closing of the transaction.

Post-deal plans

The transaction is expected to close this year, subject to receipt of all regulatory approvals and compliance with customary conditions. The combined company will continue to operate under the Agility brand, and its shares will be traded on one of the major North American exchanges under the ticker symbol “AGLT.”

Agility said the proceeds will be used to fulfill existing customer orders, expand commercial deployments, launch volume production of Digit v5 and further invest in its own integrated platform.