Indian Physical AI attracts $155 Mn in 2026 as robotics, real-world data gain traction

Home services startup Pronto’s decision to expand its Physical AI experiment involving wearable cameras inside customers’ homes has brought the emerging technology into focus, particularly the opportunity around real-world data for training AI and robotics systems. The move comes even as larger home services players Snabbit and Urban Company's InstaHelp have opted out of similar initiatives. Pronto, which has raised $45 million in funding this year alone, is expanding its opt-in Pronto Verified service, which records service sessions and uses anonymized footage for AI training. As companies explore ways to collect real-world data for AI and robotics, investor interest is also growing across robotics, autonomous systems, AI-powered hardware, and training infrastructure. Year-on-year funding trend According to data compiled by Entrackr, startups in the Indian Physical AI ecosystem have raised around $155 million across 31 deals in 2026 so far. This compares with $130 million across 25 deals in 2025, $124 million across 24 deals in 2024, and $91 million across 21 deals in 2023, according to Venture Intelligence data . For this analysis, the funding dataset includes startups headquartered in India, as well as overseas companies with significant Physical AI product development, commercial deployment, or data collection in India. Companies with only engineering or support teams in India, or where Physical AI remains an experimental or ancillary initiative, such as Pronto, are excl…