USDT stablecoin issuer Tether has revealed that it participated in an $81 million investment round supporting an Italian artificial intelligence startup working on next-generation humanoid robots. The 70 million-euro raise for Generative Bionics was led by CDP Venture Capital’s AI fund, alongside AMD Ventures, Duferco, Eni Next and RoboIT.

In its announcement on Monday, Tether said the funding contributes to developing humanoid systems “built for industrial scale performance” and “human-centric interaction.” The company noted that “Tether’s investment will support the development of Physical AI systems and edge AI solutions, and accelerate the industrial validation of the company’s humanoid platform, the development of its first production facility, and its integration in the broader robotics ecosystem.”

Generative Bionics, a research spinoff from the Italian Institute of Technology, is focused on building humanoids equipped with “real-world physical AI capabilities,” including applications suited for factory production environments.

Tether positions itself in emerging tech

According to the announcement, Tether views this investment as part of a broader effort to support new technologies that increase human capability and lessen dependence on centralized Big Tech structures. As Tether explained, “Tether’s support for Generative Bionics builds on its broader strategy to back emerging technologies that expand human potential while reducing reliance on centralized systems overseen by Big Tech.”

The firm categorizes its investment focus into five pillars: finance, power, data, education and evolution — the latter being the segment under which its AI initiatives fall.

Expanding AI portfolio

With a strong 2025 balance sheet, Tether has been deploying capital across several industries. Reports from mid-November indicated the company was evaluating a potential $1.15 billion investment in the German AI robotics company Neura.

The announcement also referenced additional AI-related projects the company has backed: “This includes investments in brain-computer interfaces via Blackrock Neurotech and recent AI initiatives such as Tether’s collaboration with Northern Data and Rumble to deploy a 20,000-GPU global compute network for open, privacy-preserving AI development.”

Sources:

https://tether.io/news/tether-attestation-reports-q1-q3-2025-profit-surpassing-10b-record-levels-in-us-treasuries-exposure-accelerating-usdt-supply-amidst-worlds-macroeconomic-uncertainty/

https://tether.io/news/tether-invests-in-generative-bionics-as-part-of-funding-round-to-advance-intelligent-made-in-italy-humanoid-robots/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-backs-funding-round-italian-humanoid-robots

https://x.com/Tether_to/status/1998106862214934574