Agility Robotics starts trading on Nasdaq as the first public pure-play humanoid robotics company, after merging with a special-purpose acquisition company. The deal carries a $2.5 billion pre-money valuation, but the company's first-half 2026 losses worry one researcher.
Agility Robotics is set to trade on Nasdaq under the "AGLT" ticker on Thursday, which makes it the first public "pure-play" humanoid robotics company. It reaches the market through a SPAC merger instead of a traditional IPO.
How the SPAC deal is funded
Agility said last week it would raise $465 million through the merger, along with equity funding and an investment led by Foxconn. Crypto Briefing breaks the proceeds into $164 million from the SPAC trust account, approximately $201 million from a Foxconn-led PIPE financing and $100 million from prior equity investments.
Chief Business Officer Daniel Diez explained the choice of a SPAC to MarketWatch: "We wanted that first-mover advantage", he said. A SPAC merger is seen as a way to go public quicker without the same level of scrutiny that comes with a traditional IPO.
Orders and customers
Agility, which has a $2.5 billion pre-money valuation, says it has more than $300 million of multiyear contracted orders for the next version of its Digit robot, subject to certain milestones and features. It expects to give early access to Digit 5 in the first half of 2027.
The company has engaged with more than 30 customers, either in a pilot program where customers pay $500,000 or in active commercial discussions, according to a filing. Its relationships include GXO Logistics and Amazon, which is an investor and early customer.
Steep losses draw criticism
However, Scott Walter, who leads research at the closed-end fund RoboStrategy, sees multiple red flags in Agility's financials, and RoboStrategy is not interested in the company. Walter said a SPAC can indicate that a company cannot raise sufficient funds in the private market. Agility responded that it had other options, including a new private round, but chose the SPAC as the fastest, most capital-efficient route.
In the first half of 2026, Agility disclosed $174,000 in total net sales, a 72% decline from a year before, which it attributed to one-time robot sales in the first half of 2025.
Over the same period it recorded an operational loss of $362.7 million, compared with $72.6 million a year earlier. The company said a significant amount of that loss was tied to higher stock-based compensation expenses.
As of June 30, Agility had $14.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, as well as $7.1 million in restricted cash.
Sources: MarketWatch, Crypto Briefing
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