Tether, the company behind the USDT stablecoin, is in advanced talks to lead a €1 billion funding round for Neura Robotics, a German startup developing AI-powered humanoid machines. This potential deal would value Neura at between €8 and €10 billion, signaling a massive vote of confidence in the future of intelligent robots.
This strategic shift demonstrates how Tether is leveraging its enormous profits to build a diverse, frontier-tech investment portfolio. The planned investment is not just a financial transaction; it’s a statement that the capital generated from the digital dollar economy is now fueling ambitious projects in the physical world.
The engine behind the investment
Tether’s capacity to even consider such a substantial investment stems from its incredibly profitable business model. The company generates billions in profit, mostly from the interest it earns on the U.S. Treasury bills and other high-quality assets that back its USDT stablecoin. Tether posted $13.4 billion in profit last year, driven largely by interest from U.S. Treasuries backing USDT.
The company has already been actively deploying this capital. Its growing portfolio includes strategic stakes in approximately 140 companies across sectors like artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and communications. This potential €1 billion funding deal for Neura represents one of its largest and most ambitious forays into deep tech to date.
Tether to lead €1b funding deal: But why a robot company?
Neura Robotics is not a typical startup. The company has set an audacious goal to produce 5 million robots by 2030 and claims to have already secured an order book worth €1 billion. It aims to create an “iPhone moment” for robotics, developing cognitive machines designed for industrial use first, with a longer-term vision of entering our homes.
For Tether, Neura represents a strategic entry point into a market that industry leaders, like Nvidia’s CEO, have described as a future multi-trillion-dollar opportunity. By planting its flag in a leading robotics firm, Tether is betting on the convergence of AI and physical hardware, positioning itself at what it believes will be the next major technological frontier.
Neura is operating in an increasingly crowded and competitive field. It is part of a global race that includes tech heavyweights like Tesla, which is developing its Optimus robot and targeting production of one million units per year by 2030. They are also competing with a wave of well-funded startups, including 1X, Figure AI, and The Bot Company, all vying for a piece of the nascent humanoid robot market. This context makes the potential for Tether to lead €1b funding deal so critical.
A new type of investment powerhouse
This potential deal reveals three key aspects of Tether’s evolving strategy. First, the company is thinking on a decades-long horizon. A bet of this size on a hardware-focused robotics company is inherently a long-term play, far removed from the short-term cycles of crypto trading.
Second, Tether is methodically transforming its stablecoin profits into real-world influence. Its investments across robotics, AI, and energy are coalescing into a strategy that resembles a private, technology-focused sovereign wealth fund, all funded by the flows of its digital dollar ecosystem.
Finally, the company is showing a clear appetite for concentrated, strategic bets. Allocating such a significant amount of capital to a single, six-year-old company is an aggressive move that highlights Tether’s confidence in its investment vision.
Navigating the risks
The potential deal is not without its questions. As a stablecoin issuer, Tether’s primary responsibility is to maintain the peg and safety of USDT, which is used by millions as a cash-like equivalent. Some may question whether recycling profits into speculative ventures is an appropriate use of funds that ultimately derive from managing low-risk reserves.
Furthermore, Neura’s potential valuation jump from a €120 million round in January 2025 to a possible €8-10 billion valuation is dramatic. It underscores the intense investor enthusiasm and corresponding valuation heat currently surrounding the AI and robotics sector.
The bottom line
The potential for Tether to lead a €1b funding deal for Neura Robotics is more than just a headline; it is a powerful indicator of a broader economic shift. The capital accumulating within the digital asset ecosystem is now seeking out and empowering the next wave of physical world innovation.
If successful, this investment would not only accelerate the development of intelligent machines but also firmly establish Tether as a unique and influential force in the world of frontier technology, funded by the digital dollar economy it helped create.
