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- 🔋💵 Energy's $192M Battery Bet
🔋💵 Energy's $192M Battery Bet
$192M Fuels Next-Gen Grid Storage
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Dear Friend,
As the third week of January 2026 unfolds, physical AI continues its global push with UBTECH Robotics partnering with Airbus to deploy Walker S2 humanoids on aircraft production lines and Skild AI closing nearly $1.4 billion in Series C funding at a $14 billion valuation to expand its omni-bodied robotics foundation model across industrial, warehouse, construction, and data center environments. Data centers remain at the heart of digital infrastructure build-out as Blackstone lines up a €4.65 billion hyperscale campus in Germany, maincubes locks in €2.9 billion of debt to fund a new Berlin 200 MW campus and Frankfurt expansion, and Thailand’s Board of Investment greenlights $3.1 billion of new projects totaling 368 MW of IT load.
Mobility also accelerates, with JetZero raising $175 million in Series B to advance its blended‑wing demonstrator toward a 2027 first flight, while Eve Air Mobility secures up to $15 million in U.S. export-credit financing to support eVTOL development and Carrum scales Uber-backed low-emission fleets across India’s major cities. Energy transition and power infrastructure advance in parallel, with Bill Gates–backed Type One Energy raising $87 million toward a Tennessee fusion plant, Terralayr securing $192 million to build grid-scale batteries in Germany, Aegis Energy landing $122 million for hydrogen and biomethane truck refueling hubs in the UK, and Solv Energy filing for a U.S. IPO off $1.7 billion in nine‑month revenue to ride the data center power boom.​
Stay sharp,
Vitaly Golomb |  |
Physical AI
1. Skild AI Raises $1.4B Series C at $14B+ Valuation

Skild AI landed a $1.4 billion Series C to build an “omni-bodied” robot foundation model that can drive almost any robot across warehouses, factories, construction, and data centers.
2. Mytra Raises $120M Series C for Warehouse Robotics

Mytra raised $120 million to scale its software-defined warehouse robots that can shrink labor needs by roughly a third while boosting storage density for large enterprise customers.
3. Harmattan AI Raises $200M Series B at $1.4B Valuation

Harmattan AI became France’s first defense-tech unicorn with $200 million to mass-produce autonomous drones for interception, electronic warfare, and ISR, backed by large French and UK orders.
4. UBTECH Partners With Airbus for Humanoid Robot Deployment

UBTECH is rolling out its Walker S2 humanoid robots across Airbus factories, signaling a major push to automate high-precision aircraft manufacturing and scale its global industrial footprint.
Sponsored by:
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Data Centers
1. Blackstone Plans $4.65B German Data Center Investment

Blackstone plans a $4.65 billion hyperscale data center in Germany, marking one of Europe’s largest single-site digital infrastructure bets.
2. Maincubes Secures €2.5B ($2.9B) Debt Financing for European Expansion
Maincubes locked in up to €2.5 billion in debt to refinance its portfolio and build new campuses in Frankfurt and Berlin totaling hundreds of megawatts.
3. Thailand Board of Investment Approves $3.1B in Data Centers

Thailand approved seven new data center projects worth over $3.1 billion and 368MW of IT load, anchoring Southeast Asia as an emerging AI and cloud hub.
4. BCE’s Data Center Expansion Accelerates

BCE’s Bell AI Fabric is building out Canadian AI data centers faster than planned, with C$300 million committed and revenue expected to hit around C$400 million.
Mobility
1. JetZero Raises $175M Series B to Develop Fuel-Efficient Blended-Wing Aircraft
JetZero raised $175 million to fly a blended‑wing demonstrator by 2027, aiming to slash fuel burn and emissions for next-gen commercial jets.
2. Eve Air Mobility Secures $15M Loan for eVTOL Development

Eve Air Mobility obtained up to $15 million in export credit-backed financing to fund batteries and engineering for its eVTOL program with BAE Systems.
3. Carrum Mobility Secures Series A From Uber

Carrum raised an estimated $7 million from Uber to scale its low-emission CNG and EV fleets from five cities to major metros across India.
4. Misochain Technologies Raises $2M Seed Round

Misochain closed a ~$2 million seed to build a plant for flight-critical components like air data probes and actuators for defense and aviation platforms.
Sponsored by:
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Energy Transition
1. German BESS Platform Terralayr Raises €192M ($223M)
Terralayr raised €192 million to build its own grid-scale battery projects and expand its LAYR flexibility-as-a-service platform.
2. Aegis Energy Secures $122M for Multi-Energy Refueling Stations

Aegis Energy secured $122 million to build five UK truck stops that combine hydrogen, biomethane, and EV charging for commercial fleets.
3. Type One Energy Raises $87M for Fusion Power Development

Type One Energy raised $87 million in convertible notes ahead of a planned $250 million Series B to advance its Infinity Two fusion power plant in Tennessee.
4. Solv Energy Files for IPO Amid Data Center Power Boom

Solv Energy filed for a US IPO after generating $114 million net income on $1.7 billion revenue in nine months, positioning itself as a key enabler of data center power build-out.