Tether Backs Generative Bionics in €70M Round to Advance Industrial Humanoid AI

Tether’s investment arm has channelled fresh funding into Generative Bionics, a new venture born out of the Italian Institute of Technology. The company is developing advanced humanoid systems built for heavy-duty industrial settings. These machines are being designed to perform reliably under pressure, interact with people in a safe and natural way, and use high-level AI to manage demanding physical tasks.

Investment Round and Growth Roadmap

Tether joined AMD Ventures, RoboIT, and other contributors in a €70 million funding round arranged through CDP Venture Capital’s Artificial Intelligence Fund. The investment aligns with the stablecoin issuer’s ongoing push into technologies that strengthen digital and physical infrastructure while supporting tools designed to expand human capability.

Generative Bionics explained that the new funds will accelerate several key stages of its development plan. The company intends to advance its product range, continue refining and training its physical AI systems, run industrial trials, and begin work on its first manufacturing facility. This progression marks an important step as the startup develops its humanoid systems and moves toward practical use.

Tether noted that its involvement fits within a broader strategy aimed at supporting technologies that reduce reliance on dominant tech platforms. This wider effort includes initiatives that expand its role in human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence:

• Supporting brain-computer interface initiatives through Blackrock Neurotech to advance human-machine capabilities.
• Partnering with Northern Data and Rumble to set up a 20,000-GPU global network aimed at open and privacy-conscious AI development.

Tether’s View and Industry Outlook

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, said the company directs its capital toward technologies that reinforce essential infrastructure while enabling innovations that broaden human capability. He described humanoid robotics and physical AI as a major leap forward in the practical use of intelligent systems and added that “Generative Bionics is building one of the most advanced platforms emerging from Europe.”

Looking ahead, Generative Bionics is preparing its initial industrial contracts, which are expected to be announced in early 2026. This comes as international forecasts indicate that the humanoid robotics sector could exceed €200 billion by 2035 and rise above $5 trillion by 2050, showing the scale of the opportunity the startup is targeting.

Market Rating Update and Tether’s Response

This news comes a few weeks after S&P Global lowered USDT’s stability rating to its lowest level, citing Tether’s increased holdings in Bitcoin and other assets with limited transparency. Ardoino challenged the assessment on X, arguing that long-standing rating practices have historically awarded strong marks to traditional institutions that later collapsed, prompting regulators to question the reliability of major agencies.

He added that established finance appears unsettled when firms point to weaknesses in the current system. Ardoino maintained that Tether holds excess reserves, avoids high-risk assets, and remains strongly profitable, which he views as evidence of deeper issues within traditional financial structures.