bessemer predicts atlas
No human actually wants to do highly repetitive physical tasks or endure unsafe working conditions in factories or hazardous sites. That observation sounds simple, but the implications are not. Demographic trends across the US, Europe, Japan, and China are building structural, lasting demand for robotics solutions—demand that persists independent of any single technology cycle. Some analysts have projected the robotics market will reach $38 billion by 2035—a forecast Goldman Sachs itself revised upward sixfold in a single year. We think that's still conservative, on both pace and magnitude.
“There will be 100,000x more robots on Earth in the next 10-20 years.”
— Jeremy Levine, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners
At Bessemer, we often invest in new categories when we see the intersection of three forces: talent migration, technology breakthroughs, and structural tailwinds. In robotics and physical AI, all three are accelerating simultaneously. Already, we’ve invested in breakthrough teams, as our portfolio spans software, full systems, and foundation models: Waymo, Mind Robotics, Foxglove, Breaker, Noda, Voxel51, DroneDeploy, Auterion, Perceptron, and ANYbotics. But we're just getting started, especially after identifying the top 50 startups building in the space. Below are the six predictions shaping our investment activity in 2026—and the founder perspectives that are shaping how we see what’s on the horizon.
