Neura Robotics Qualcomm partnership targets next generation of robots with Physical AI

Qualcomm's partnership with Neura Robotics is just the beginning

German robotics startup Neura Robotics has inked a partnership with semiconductor giant Qualcomm to build the next generation of robots and physical AI. The deal is the latest coupling in the emerging physical AI industry between robotics startups and larger tech hardware and software companies. While no specific products were mentioned in the Monday announcements, the companies will work together to build the "brain and nervous system" of robots in a quest to advance the deployment of humanoid and general-purpose robots in the real world in both domestic and industrial settings. More specifically, Neura will use Qualcomm's Dragonwing Robotics IQ10 processors as reference designs in its robots. This IQ10 series was announced at CES earlier this year, and these chips are designed to work with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and humanoids. Neura also plans to use its Neuraverse robotic simulation and training platform, which was released in June 2025, to test and fine-tune the robots running on Qualcomm's IQ10 processors. "This collaboration marks a major step toward making physical AI real: open, scalable, and trusted," David Reger, CEO and founder of Neura Robotics, said in a press release. "By bringing together our cognitive robotics platforms and the Neuraverse ecosystem with Qualcomm Technologies' leadership in edge AI and connectivity, we're aiming to accelerate a future where cognitive robots operate safely alongside humans across industries and throughout everyday life." This deal makes a lot of sense for both sides. And it's a formula that will likely become a popular strategy for robotics companies trying to bring their products into the real world. For instance, Boston Dynamics announced a strategic partnership with Google DeepMind in January to speed up the development of the robotic company's Atlas humanoid robot by using Google's AI foundational models. While Boston Dynamics and Neura's respective partnerships deal with different technologies -- AI models versus chips -- the same conclusion can be drawn. Instead of these two companies just being customers of tech vendors, partnering allows for these robotic companies to better use and embed these technologies. A robotic company that has technical prowess in software will have a much easier -- and likely cheaper -- path to market and scale through partnering with hardware companies that have already figured out tough technical challenges like building robotics hands with dexterity, for example. In Neura's case, the company gets to build and test robots designed for the chips they are running on while Qualcomm gets an intimate look at how robotic companies can use its processors. As more AI companies like Nvidia look to physical AI as the next major market for their technology, they are going to want a seat at the table of how their tech is being used. The upshot: expect more partnerships.

NEURA Robotics Partners Qualcomm to Boost AI-Powered Robotics Development

NEURA's robotic systems - including robotic arms, mobile robots, service and household robots, and humanoid platforms - may serve as reference platforms for development, testing, and real-world validation. The collaboration emphasizes functional safety, real-time responsiveness, and human-centric design as foundational principles, leveraging a data-driven approach to continuously improve reliability, determinism, and AI performance. Accelerating a future where cognitive robots operate safely alongside humans "This collaboration marks a major step toward making physical AI real: open, scalable, and trusted," said David Reger, CEO and Founder of NEURA Robotics. "By bringing together our cognitive robotics platforms and the Neuraverse ecosystem with Qualcomm Technologies' leadership in edge AI and connectivity, we're aiming to accelerate a future where cognitive robots operate safely alongside humans across industries and throughout everyday life." "Robotics represents one of the most demanding edge AI use cases, where decisions must happen instantly, reliably, and locally, without relying solely on the cloud for safety-critical responses," said Nakul Duggal, EVP and Group GM, Automotive, Industrial and Embedded IoT and Robotics, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Qualcomm Technologies has a long-standing presence in robotics, and continued ecosystem development with companies like NEURA Robotics helps accelerate scalable, on-device intelligence. NEURA's approach to cognitive robotics reflects a growing shift toward bringing perception and reasoning directly onto the device." Through this collaboration, NEURA Robotics and Qualcomm Technologies aim to accelerate the commercialization of humanoid and general-purpose robotics, helping bring physical AI from experimental systems into scalable, real-world deployment across industries.