Ultra’s funding came in two rounds: a $50 million Series A led by Framework Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, and an earlier $12 million seed round led by the latter and Next View.

In an interview with Term Sheet, Ultra CEO and co-founder Jon Miller Schwartz made a point we’re hearing a lot these days: Namely, he says humanoid robots get the lion’s share of attention, but that it is other forms of robots that are having the most impact in the real world. This phenomenon is hardly a new one: Recall how, in the 1980s, fictional robots like C3PO and Terminator’s T-800 captured the popular imagination, even as people gave little notice to new robotic arms doing actual work in auto factories.

Today, humanoid robots have made their way from the movie screen into real life, but they are prone to falling over, and their makers are struggling to deploy them in everyday situations. Ultra’s robots, on the other hand, can be found in warehouses across the country and according to the company, the devices have packed more than half a million orders for shipping.

Unlike many Silicon Valley engineers, Schwartz studied mechanical engineering, which means he and his team spend their days doing hands-on stuff with metal parts, cables and motors. That includes going to so-called 3PL (third party logistics) sites, and installing Ultra’s robots that specialize in packing goods for transit.

Ultra’s contraptions are part of a growing robot empire taking over the country’s warehouse and logistics operations. Notable players in the space include France-based Exotec, whose robots specialize in climbing vertical racks to retrieve things and, of course, Amazon and its fleet of devices working alongside humans in hubs across the U.S. There is also Uber founder Travis Kalanick, who is also firmly in the non-humanoid robot, and who recently stepped back into the public eye with a plan to complete what he started at the ride-sharing firm. Kalanick’s new company, Atoms, is a massive logistics and AI play that he says will one day use one robot to cook your burrito and another to bring it to your door.

While Ultra is riding a wave, its early success has come in part from its shrewd as-a-service business model. Schwartz says the company has booked significant revenue (he didn’t disclose how much) because Ultra doesn’t require customers to lay out large amounts of capital to use its robots. Instead, clients pay an up-front integration fee for Ultra to install the robots, and then an ongoing monthly fee for ongoing hardware and software support. The model has gotten so much traction that Schwartz says Ultra has been able to raise prices.

There is a second intriguing part of Ultra’s business model, which is its decision to employ what some call the “body and brains” approach to robots. That means Ultra builds and installs the robots, but relies on Physical Intelligence to supply the AI that allows them to learn and improve rapidly in response to any given customer’s set-up. Numerous other robot makers are also using software from PI, which is valued at $5.6 billion, and was founded by a team from Google DeepMind who published a landmark paper on robotic intelligence.

The tie-up between Ultra and Physical Intelligence thus reflects a clever division of labor and distribution play—one that lets the former focus on its core robot-building competency, while PI gets out-of-the-lab data to better train its models. As for when we’ll see this sort of scaling on the humanoid robot side of things? Schwartz says give it five years. 

See you Monday,

Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts

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VENTURE CAPITAL

- Arena, a San Francisco-based AI model evaluation platform, raised $200 million in Series B funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures led the round and were joined by Salesforce Ventures, 01 Advisors, and others.

- Hone, a San Francisco-based developer of AI software that automates business processes, raised $60 million in funding. Benchmark and Index Ventures led the round and were joined by Elad Gil, Hanabi, Definition, and Diffusion.

- Rein Security, a New York City and Tel Aviv-based developer of software that protects business applications while they run, raised $25 million. Glilot Capital and Sienna Venture Capital led the round and were joined by Corner Ventures, Atlacle, and RNP Capital Advisors.

- Sonilo, a San Francisco-based developer of AI tools that create music and sound effects for videos, raised $11 million in funding. B Capital led the round and was joined by Redpoint.

- UniSieve, a Zürich, Switzerland-based developer of membranes that separate industrial gases and capture carbon, raised $9 million in funding. Supernova Invest led the round and was joined by existing investors Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, Founderful, and Zürcher Kantonalbank.

- Onyx, a Berkeley, Calif.-based research company developing a model of how the immune system responds to disease and treatment, raised $8 million in seed funding. Dimension Capital led the round and was joined by Haystack and Refactor Capital.

- Outro, a New York City-based online clinic that helps patients stop taking antidepressants, raised $7 million in funding from Listen Ventures, Cake Ventures, LAUNCH Fund, and Hannah Grey Ventures.

- Verso, a Paris, France-based company that uses AI for consumer research, raised $6 million in seed funding. Angular Ventures led the round and was joined by 100in and others.

- Phinity Labs, a San Francisco-based developer of technology to automate chip design, raised $5.2 million in seed funding. Uncork Capital led the round and was joined by Moxxie and angel investors. 

- Peppermint, a San Francisco-based AI-powered financial operations platform, raised $4.7 million in seed funding. Moxxie led the round and was joined by Homebrew, Better Tomorrow Ventures, Layout Ventures, and others.

- Golbriak Space, an Estonia-based developer of laser technology for communications in space, raised €4 million ($4.5 million) in seed funding. Join Capital and PhotonVentures led the round and were joined by Takeoff.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Guide Architecture, a portfolio company of Grovecourt Capital, acquired MAIA Consulting, a Highlands Ranch, Colo.-based medical equipment planning and consulting firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Kian Capital Partners acquired Integrity Landscape, a Morgan Hill, Calif.-based commercial landscaping company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- North Branch Capital acquired Callaway Industrial Services, a Mooresville, N.C.-based industrial and commercial facility maintenance company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Optimum Energy, a portfolio company of Bernhard Capital Partners, acquired Hussung Mechanical Contractors and HMC Service Company, a Louisville, Ky.-based mechanical infrastructure services firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- SRS Acquiom, backed by Lovell Minnick Partners and Carlyle AlpInvest, agreed to acquire Pantarai, a Buckhurst Hill, U.K.-based provider of specialized loan solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IPOs

- Iambic Therapeutics, a San Diego, Calif.-based life sciences company using AI for drug discovery, filed to go public on the Nasdaq. The company plans to raise $159.8 million in an offering of 9.4 million shares priced between $15 and $17 on the Nasdaq. Catalonia, Nexus Ventures, and Ascenta Capital back the company.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- Spectrum Equity, a Boston, Mass.-based growth equity firm, raised $2.5 billion for its eleventh fund focused on the software, AI, and data services sectors.

- Aphias Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, raised $1.05 billion for its first fund focused on health care services and essential services companies.