Waymo headlines the week with a massive $16 billion infusion to expand autonomous ride-hailing, while Osmo secures $70 million to digitize scent and deep-tech startups like Chiral and Polaron raise millions to merge AI with physical sciences.
On 2026, marks another aggressive week for AI investment, characterized by a clear shift from generalist chatbots to “Physical AI” – technologies that interact with the real world. While Waymo’s colossal round dominates the headlines, the undercurrent of funding is flowing toward specialized verticals: olfactory digitization, material science discovery, and autonomous robotics. Investors are no longer just funding code; they are funding the physical manifestation of intelligence.
Top AI Funding Rounds: February 6, 2026
The following table summarizes the key capital raises announced in the last 24–48 hours.
| Company | Amount Raised | Round Series | Lead Investor(s) | The “Why” (Use of Funds) |
| Waymo | $16 Billion | Late Stage | Alphabet, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz | Expansion of autonomous ride-hailing services to new U.S. cities and next-gen hardware deployment. |
| Osmo | $70 Million | Series B | Two Sigma Ventures | Scaling “digital scent” technology to digitize smell for healthcare and consumer applications. |
| Daytona | $24 Million | Series A | FirstMark | Building secure development environments (SDEs) to manage and scale AI-generated code. |
| Chiral | $12 Million | Seed | Crane Venture Partners | Commercializing high-speed robotic platforms for integrating nanomaterials into next-gen chips. |
| Polaron | $8 Million | Seed | Serena | Accelerating generative AI design tools for discovering new materials for EV batteries and alloys. |
| Flock AI | $6 Million | Seed | Work-Bench | Developing a generative AI visual commerce platform for fashion brands to create on-brand imagery. |
| Expert Intelligence | $5.8 Million | Seed | Sierra Ventures | Automating complex data interpretation for regulated lab environments (e.g., pharma manufacturing). |
| Qureos | $5 Million | Seed | Prosus Ventures | Expanding their AI-driven “hiring-as-a-service” platform into new global markets. |
| Octobotics | ~$1.2 Million | Seed | Navam Capital | Developing autonomous non-destructive testing (NDT) robots for hazardous industrial inspections. |
Deep Dive: The “Why” Behind the Money
1. The Physical AI Boom (Waymo, Octobotics, Chiral)
The most significant trend today is the massive capital injection into Embodied AI—AI that moves.
- Waymo’s $16B is not just about keeping the lights on; it is a war chest to dominate the robotaxi market before competitors like Tesla or Zoox can catch up. The funding is specifically earmarked for operational expansion into harsh weather climates and complex urban environments.
- Octobotics (India) and Chiral (Switzerland) represent the industrial side of this trend. Octobotics is using funds to send robots into oil pipelines and chemical plants—places too dangerous for humans. Chiral is using its $12M to solve a hardware bottleneck: using AI-guided robotics to place microscopic nanomaterials onto chips, a task previously impossible at scale.
2. Digitizing the Senses (Osmo)
Perhaps the most unique raise is Osmo’s $70M Series B. While most AI startups focus on text (LLMs) or vision (image gen), Osmo is conquering smell.
- Why they raised: To build an “olfactory map” of the world. Their AI predicts how a molecule will smell based on its structure. The funds will drive partnerships with fragrance companies and, more importantly, develop “scent sensors” for early disease detection, effectively turning AI into a super-sniffer dog for healthcare.
3. AI for Hard Science (Polaron, Expert Intelligence)
Investors are increasingly betting on AI to solve “hard” scientific problems rather than just generating marketing copy.
- Polaron is using Generative AI not for art, but to design new atomic structures for better batteries. This “Generative Design” accelerates R&D cycles from years to weeks.
- Expert Intelligence raised funds to automate the boring, high-stakes part of science: data interpretation in FDA-regulated labs. Their AI ensures compliance and speed in drug production, a critical need for big pharma.
Market Analysis: Early 2026 AI Funding Trends
The funding landscape has evolved significantly from the “hype cycle” of 2023–2024. We are now in the “Deployment Phase.”
Key Statistic: As of February 2026, Seed valuations for AI startups are commanding a 42% premium over non-AI startups. This indicates that while the broader venture market remains cautious, investor appetite for early-stage AI innovation is insatiable.
Emerging Investment Themes:
- Agentic AI is King: Investors are moving away from “Copilots” (assistants) to “Agents” (autonomous workers). Startups like Daytona are raising funds to build the infrastructure where these autonomous agents can write and execute code safely.
- Vertical vs. Horizontal: The era of “ChatGPT for X” is fading. The winners are vertical-specific platforms (e.g., Flock AI for fashion, Cadastral for real estate) that own proprietary data workflows deep within an industry.
- The IPO Thaw: Generate Biomedicines filing for an IPO this week is a massive signal. It suggests the public markets are finally ready to price AI-native biotech companies, potentially opening the exit door for early investors.
What This Means for Founders and Investors
- For Founders: The bar has risen. Raising a Series A now requires more than a wrapper around GPT-5. You need “proprietary physics”—either literal hardware, unique data moats, or deep integration into complex scientific workflows.
- For Investors: The “easy money” in foundation models is gone. The alpha is now in the application layer of physical industries (manufacturing, logistics, biotech) where AI can show tangible ROI on day one.
Future Outlook
Today’s funding news confirms that 2026 is the year AI gets its hands dirty. From Waymo’s cars navigating city streets to Octobotics’ crawlers inside pipelines and Osmo’s sensors analyzing air molecules, the capital is fueling a transition from digital chat interfaces to physical world interaction.