As robots become more intelligent, the computing hardware inside them is becoming just as important as their mechanical components.
D-Robotics recently raised $400 million in Series C funding to expand its AI robotics hardware and software infrastructure, including its Sunrise chip family and a broader platform covering robot development. (PR Newswire)
The company said its Sunrise-series chips had surpassed 8 million cumulative shipments and that its embodied-AI business had entered mass production during the first half of 2026. (PR Newswire)
Robots need their own computing infrastructure
A robot cannot rely entirely on cloud computing.
Many decisions need to happen locally.
A warehouse robot, for example, may need to identify an object, calculate its position and adjust its movements in real time.
Sending every sensor reading to a remote data center can introduce latency and create connectivity dependencies.
This makes edge computing particularly important for robotics.
From chips to complete platforms
D-Robotics is positioning its technology as more than an individual processor.
The company is developing hardware and software covering different stages of robot development, from computing components to software infrastructure.
That approach mirrors the broader AI industry, where successful platforms increasingly combine chips, development tools, operating environments and software ecosystems.
Physical AI creates new hardware demands
Robotics workloads are different from conventional computing.
A robot may simultaneously process camera feeds, depth information, audio, motion sensors and control signals.
The system must also perform these calculations while operating within strict power and thermal constraints.
That makes specialized edge AI hardware increasingly important.
The infrastructure layer
The robotics industry is therefore developing a new technology stack.
At the bottom are motors, batteries and mechanical systems.
Above them sit sensors and computing hardware.
Then come AI models, operating systems and control software.
At the top are applications such as warehouse automation, manufacturing, healthcare and consumer robotics.
The growth of companies like D-Robotics suggests that the robotics boom is creating opportunities far beyond companies that physically manufacture robots.