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NEURA Robotics has introduced Neuron AI, a multimodal foundation model for Physical AI. The Metzingen, Germany-based company says the model combines 3D vision, touch, audio, robot state, and language with memory, so robots can act on more than camera data and keep track of objects out of sight. Neuron AI is trained on real-world robot data, simulated data, and human demonstrations captured with sensor-equipped suits. It runs across five NEURA robot types, and customers can fine-tune it for their own tasks through the company's Neuraverse platform. Data partners include Schaeffler and Bosch. At NVIDIA GTC Berlin 2026, NEURA will show its 4NE1 humanoid robot handling laundry for eleven minutes without human help. The demonstration runs from October 20 to 22.

Record-breaking investments are pouring into Europe - here's where the billions are going. More than $51 billion in venture capital investment flowed into Europe in the first six months of 2026, whilst a record number of funding rounds worth over $1 billion were finalised in the first quarter of the year. Alongside AI, robotics, autonomous transport, fintech and energy, defence technologies and biotechnology are also attracting increasing attention from investors. Record number of billion-dollar deals already in the first quarter. According to KPMG's analysis, Europe's venture capital market continues to benefit from its geographical and sectoral diversity, with investment activity well distributed across countries and industries. The strength of the market is particularly well illustrated by the fact that in the first quarter of 2026, six European companies raised at least $1 billion in funding - a higher figure than ever before. Of the six transactions, three were in the United Kingdom, two in Germany and one in France. Among the largest European deals were the US$2 billion round for the British AI technology firm Nscale, the US$1.8 billion round for the German robotics firm Neura Robotics, the US$1.5 billion round for the British autonomous vehicle technology firm Wayve, the US$1.2 billion round for the German fintech firm Cloover, the French AI technology firm Advanced Machine Intelligence raising $1 billion, and the British energy technology firm Kraken Technologies raising $1 billion. These billion-dollar funding rounds clearly demonstrate that investor interest is no longer concentrated on a single technology sector: alongside AI and robotics, autonomous transport, fintech and energy also featured amongst the largest transactions. AI remains the driving force behind investment. Interest continued to grow in the second quarter: the British firm Ineffable Intelligence raised $1.1 billion, one of the largest early-stage funding rounds in Europe to date. This record-breaking investment also indicates that investors are willing to risk extremely large sums even in the early stages of a company's life cycle in pursuit of the growth opportunities offered by AI. Alongside AI, the biotechnology sector is also attracting increasing attention from investors. This is clearly illustrated by the $2.1 billion funding round secured by Isomorphic Labs, another UK-based company specialising in AI-driven pharmaceutical research, which was one of the largest European transactions in the first half of the year. The convergence of artificial intelligence and healthcare innovations is likely to continue to attract significant investor interest in Europe in the coming years. Defence technology is one of the fastest-growing sectors. Alongside AI, defence technology and dual-use technologies (which can be applied for both civilian and military purposes) have also become increasingly sought-after in Europe. According to KPMG, defence technology has seen spectacular growth in Europe over the past two years, with investor interest ranging from drone technology and satellites to secure communications and cyber solutions. In the second quarter, Aura Aero, a French developer of dual-use hybrid-electric aircraft, raised $392 million in funding. KPMG states that, due to geopolitical tensions and European countries' efforts to develop their sovereign defence capabilities, defence technology is likely to remain a key investment area in the coming period. Robotics, autonomous transport and energy are also attracting investors. Among the largest transactions of the first half of the year were several sectors which, alongside AI, demonstrate the broadening of the European technology ecosystem. German firm Neura Robotics' $1.8 billion funding round signals strong investor interest in robotics, whilst British firm Wayve's $1.5 billion round has taken funding in autonomous transport to a new level. In the energy technology sector, Germany's Cloover raised $1.2 billion, whilst the UK's Kraken Technologies raised $1 billion. According to KPMG, within the UK's energy sector, the focus has been particularly on infrastructure solutions that offer a response to growing energy demand, such as power generation, battery storage or energy efficiency technologies. Europe remained attractive to major investors. The European venture capital market had an exceptionally strong first half of 2026: according to data from KPMG Private Enterprise Venture Pulse, European companies raised $25.7 billion in venture capital in the first quarter, followed by a further $25.6 billion in the second, meaning that a total of approximately $51.3 billion flowed into the continent's start-up and scale-up ecosystem over the first six months. Partner with Daily News Hungary Reach Hungary's international audience. Get the most important Hungarian news every evening Join 7000+ readers worldwide. Unsubscribe anytime. Support independent journalism Help Daily News Hungary keep delivering credible news in English.

NEURA Robotics and SECO join forces to scale Physical AI from Europe. 7 September 2026 11:00 * Partnership combines NEURA's Physical AI architecture, which leverages Qualcomm Technologies' advanced computing platforms and SECO's embedded engineering and manufacturing expertise, while jointly developing Physical AI solutions for the semiconductor industry * NEURA and SECO will collaborate on electronic compute modules for NEURA's cognitive robots, including the humanoid 4NE1, supporting scalable series production in Europe * The collaboration builds on NEURA's decentralised Brain + Nervous System architecture and Smart Limb concept, which draw on Qualcomm Technologies' advanced computing platforms. * NEURA and SECO will also work together on real-world industrial data and automation solutions for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, creating technologies that can ultimately be deployed globally. Credit: NEURA Robotics / SECO From left to right: Massimo Mauri, CEO of SECO, and David Reger, founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics. NEURA Robotics ("NEURA") and SECO S.p.A. ("SECO") today announced a strategic partnership to industrialise and scale Physical AI from Europe. As part of the collaboration, SECO will work with NEURA on the design, engineering and manufacturing of electronic compute modules for NEURA's cognitive robots, including the humanoid 4NE1. The modules integrate Qualcomm Dragonwing(TM) processors from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and form part of NEURA's broader distributed compute architecture. The collaboration brings together three complementary capabilities: NEURA's Physical AI and robotics architecture, which leverages Qualcomm Technologies' advanced edge computing platforms, and SECO's embedded engineering and industrial manufacturing expertise. Smart Limbs: Intelligence throughout the robot NEURA believes Physical AI will be shaped by three fundamental technology layers: sensing, compute, and cloud infrastructure. Inside the machine, NEURA follows a Brain + Nervous System architecture. Through its Smart Limb concept, sensing and compute are distributed throughout the robot, bringing intelligence closer to the joints, sensors and physical interactions where real-time decisions are required. This real-time responsiveness at the edge is what allows robots to work safely and reliably alongside people. Qualcomm Technologies' Dragonwing Robotics processors help support on-device AI performance, power efficiency and low-latency control that this decentralised approach requires. SECO supports the engineering and industrialisation of corresponding compute modules for scalable production. Each partner therefore contributes its core strength to a broader Physical AI architecture. Strengthening European alliances With SECO, NEURA gains a strong European partner for its Physical AI ecosystem. As a European leader in edge AI, with deep expertise in embedded computing and electronics, SECO engineers the compute modules that bring the Dragonwing processors into NEURA's cognitive robots, so the hardware can be manufactured reliably and at the volumes NEURA's scale-up requires. Beyond this initial engagement, NEURA and SECO are working on the next steps of the partnership. These include a NEURA Gym in Italy, which will mark NEURA's first training hub in Southern Europe, and the joint collection of real-world production data as NEURA robots are going to be deployed in industrial settings. SECO is already a strong ecosystem partner with Qualcomm Technologies and has been building different tiers of compute platforms for industrial applications on Dragonwing processors. The design and development of compute modules for NEURA's cognitive robots brings all the key technologies together. From building robots to transforming production The collaboration goes beyond the compute modules inside NEURA robots. A particular focus is semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, where NEURA and SECO will use the real-world production data to develop new Physical AI automation solutions for the industry. The objective is to teach intelligent machines increasingly complex production processes, turn this knowledge into scalable automation capabilities, and ultimately make these technologies deployable across semiconductor manufacturing environments worldwide. This creates a powerful cycle: European industrial processes generate real-world knowledge, Physical AI learns from it, and the resulting capabilities can then be scaled globally. For NEURA, this reflects an important principle behind the Neuraverse: industrial knowledge should not remain trapped inside individual automation projects. Skills developed from real-world applications can become reusable building blocks for a new generation of intelligent machines. Building Europe's technology backbone for Physical AI Europe already has many of the ingredients required to lead Physical AI: robotics, industrial manufacturing, embedded systems, sensors, automation and world-class research. The opportunity is to connect them. The compute hardware SECO manufactures for NEURA's robots will be developed and produced in Europe, adding another link to a resilient European supply chain for Physical AI. The partnership between NEURA and SECO combines European engineering and industrialisation with leading global compute technology, creating another link in a scalable Physical AI ecosystem. The goal is technological sovereignty through collaboration: building critical capabilities and industrial know-how in Europe while connecting them with the best technologies in the world. David Reger, Founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics: "Physical AI will not be built by one company alone. It requires an ecosystem across sensing, compute, cloud, and industrialization. Through our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, we are advancing the compute behind our Brain + Nervous System and Smart Limb architecture, and SECO brings additional European engineering and manufacturing expertise to help us scale it. Together we will use real industrial processes to generate data and develop Physical AI solutions for semiconductor manufacturing that can ultimately be deployed anywhere in the world. This is exactly how I believe Europe should approach Physical AI: combine our industrial knowledge, build together and scale it globally." Max Mauri, CEO of SECO: "We are proud to work with NEURA on both the industrialisation of its cognitive robotics platforms and the application of Physical AI to our own industrial environment. By combining our strong engineering and technology expertise with NEURA's Physical AI architecture and Qualcomm Technologies' advanced computing platforms, we can create solutions with relevance far beyond a single factory or application." Nakul Duggal, EVP and Group GM, Automotive, Industrial and Embedded IoT, and Robotics, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.: "As physical AI moves from innovation to real-world deployment, scalable, intelligent compute platforms are essential to enabling the next generation of cognitive robotics. Our collaboration with NEURA Robotics combines Dragonwing's high-performance, power-efficient AI processing with NEURA's pioneering Brain + Nervous System architecture, helping bring more responsive, capable, and adaptable robots into industrial and commercial environments. We are pleased to see SECO join this growing ecosystem and help accelerate the path to reliable, large-scale production."