AGLT: What You Need To Know About This Robotics IPO

Agility Robotics Inc. (AGLT) just went public, becoming the first pure-play humanoid robotics company to do so that I’m aware of here in the US. What does it do, and why am I bringing it up? Let me explain

Agility is an Oregon-based startup with more than 500 employees that builds humanoid robots for warehouses and factories. Its latest model, Digit 5, loads materials onto equipment, sorts parts, and handles assembly-line tasks – taking tedious, hard-to-staff grunt work off companies’ hands.

It’s also got serious backing from the biggest of the biggies, including Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), and Foxconn, Apple Inc's. (AAPL) main iPhone assembler. That firm led a roughly $201 million private investment in the deal.

Nvidia chips are the brains inside Digit. Foxconn brings what virtually all robotics companies are missing: The capability to build machines at scale, at a reasonable cost.

But there are some big “ifs”:

• If GXO Logistics (GXO), one of the world’s largest warehouse operators, keeps rolling Digit out to more sites at this rate

• If Digit 5 ships on schedule

• If the robots start paying for themselves

Wall Street will be key, as will competitors. Hmmm.

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) were once a very viable investment. But these days, they’re more typically one of the biggest, most rigged games out there. Be very careful if you decide to get on board or – my suggestion – wait a quarter or two for the inevitable drawdown and for the company to prove itself.