Tether Plans Billion-Dollar Bet on Humanoid Robots – Here’s Why

TLDR

• Tether is in talks to invest $1.15 billion in German robotics startup Neura, which could value the company between $9.3 billion and $11.6 billion
• Neura develops humanoid robots for industrial and home use, targeting production of 5 million units by 2030
• Tether generated over $10 billion in profit during the first three quarters of 2025 through interest on US Treasury bills backing USDT
• The stablecoin issuer already backs 140 companies across sectors including AI, energy, Bitcoin mining, and commodities
• Neura raised nearly $140 million in January 2025 from investors including BlueCrest and Volvo Cars Tech Fund

Stablecoin issuer Tether is reportedly discussing a $1.15 billion investment in Neura Robotics, a German startup developing humanoid robots. The Financial Times reported the deal on Friday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the discussions.

The investment would value Neura between $9.3 billion and $11.6 billion. Neither Tether nor Neura has confirmed the potential deal is moving forward.

Neura makes robots designed to assist humans and AI systems with various tasks. The company focuses on automation for manufacturing sites and business operations. It also plans to develop robots for household use.

The German startup aims to produce 5 million robots by 2030. Company executives have stated they want to create an “iPhone moment” for robotics.

Neura raised nearly $140 million in a funding round this January. Investors in that round included BlueCrest, C4 Ventures, Lingotto, and Volvo Cars Tech Fund.

The robotics company will face competition from Tesla. Elon Musk’s electric vehicle manufacturer has announced plans to mass-produce robots.

Tether generated more than $10 billion in net profit through the first three quarters of 2025. The company posted these results in its Q3 attestation report on October 31.

Tether’s Expanding Investment Portfolio

The stablecoin issuer earned $13.4 billion in profit during 2024. Tether makes most of its revenue from interest on US Treasury bills that back its USDT stablecoin.

USDT has a market capitalization of approximately $184 billion. This makes Tether one of the most profitable companies in the world per employee.

Tether currently backs 140 companies across multiple sectors. These investments span Bitcoin mining, AI, energy, and finance.

The company expanded into commodity-trade lending last week. CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg that Tether has deployed about $1.5 billion into this sector.

Growth in Commodities and AI

The commodity investments focus on agricultural products and oil. Tether already offers a tokenized gold product called Tether Gold (XAUT).

Tether Gold’s market cap has grown 70% over the past three months to exceed $2.1 billion. This growth aligns with recent gains in gold prices.

Ardoino has shown particular interest in decentralized AI. He has invested in an internal team developing open-source machine learning technology called Tether AI.

Reports in late September indicated Tether was exploring a $20 billion fundraising round. That round could value the company at around $500 billion, similar to OpenAI’s valuation.

The post Tether Plans Billion-Dollar Bet on Humanoid Robots – Here’s Why appeared first on CoinCentral.