WIRobotics’ recent KRW 95 billion (US$68 m) Series B round, led by JB Investment and backed by a coalition of regional investors including Hana Ventures and SBVA, signals a decisive shift of sovereign and private capital toward advanced physical‑AI capabilities in the Middle East and North Africa. The infusion, arriving only two years after a KRW 13 billion Series A, underscores the confidence of Gulf sovereign wealth funds and Egypt’s venture ecosystem in the commercial scalability of humanoid platforms that can integrate into emerging smart‑city and autonomous‑mobility projects across the GCC, Maghreb and Levant.
The funding will accelerate the development of WIRobotics’ “ALLEX” humanoid system, a product line built on data harvested from its wearable walking‑assist robot “WIM.” With over 3,000 units already deployed in Europe, China, Türkiye and Japan and revenues projected to exceed KRW 2.8 billion by the end of 2025, the company is poised to supply the next generation of AI‑enhanced robotics for logistics hubs, health‑care facilities and oil‑field maintenance in the region. Partnerships with NVIDIA and AWS deepen the technological stack, offering MENA operators a ready‑made, cloud‑native AI infrastructure that dovetails with ongoing investments in 5G and edge‑computing corridors.
For regional sovereign investors, the deal represents a strategic hedge against the decarbonisation of traditional industries, providing exposure to a market estimated to surpass $200 bn globally by 2035. The participation of domestic venture funds such as InterVest and FuturePlay also nurtures a local pipeline of talent and supply‑chain capabilities, potentially reducing import dependence for high‑precision mechatronics and fostering a home‑grown ecosystem of component manufacturers, software developers and testing labs.
Infrastructure planners in the MENA corridor are now evaluating the integration of humanoid robotics into large‑scale projects, from Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City expansion to Morocco’s renewable‑energy micro‑grids. The capital injection enables WIRobotics to localise production, establish R&D hubs in Dubai Internet City and Riyadh’s King Abdullah Economic City, and launch joint‑validation pilots with regional automotive OEMs. Such collaborations are expected to generate downstream economic spill‑overs, creating skilled jobs and catalysing ancillary services that will reinforce the broader ambition of positioning the Middle East as a hub for cutting‑edge Physical AI and autonomous systems.
