# Eka Robotics raises $150 million at a $1.45 billion valuation

- Published: 2026-10-20T13:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T10:09:02.323Z
- Section: Market
- Topics: Business
- Page: https://aidailyjournal.com/en/n/2026/10/20/eka-robotics-raises-150-million-at-a-1-45-billion-valuation/
- Sources: [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/eka-is-worth-1-45-billion-thanks-to-a-physical-ai-model-that-has-experts-raving)

## Summary

Eka Robotics, founded by MIT professor Pulkit Agrawal and former Google DeepMind researcher Tuomas Haarnoja, raised $150 million in a Series A led by a16z and F-Prime, valuing the startup at $1.45 billion post-money, according to TechCrunch. The company developed a manipulation architecture with a force-sensitive gripper and a deep-learning model that links vision, force and action rather than only vision, language and action.

Eka says its robot can pick up about 1,500 objects weighing up to 1 kg per hour, compared with about 600 for a human, and does so successfully more than 95% of the time. Experts told TechCrunch they were impressed by its speed, its ability to adapt to different objects without retraining and the human-like quality of its movements. Pulkit Agrawal told the outlet that force and contact are essential for completing a grasp without crushing delicate objects such as a raspberry.

## Why it matters (editorial interpretation)

The $150 million round values Eka Robotics at $1.45 billion and funds an approach that combines vision, force and action for robotic manipulation. If the company’s claims and the evaluations reported by TechCrunch hold up, this combination could matter for handling varied and delicate objects without retraining.

_Summary written by AI Daily Journal in its own words, based on the sources above. For details, read the original articles._