Let's Get Physical AI 🏗️
Apr 9, 2026
Kaley Ubellacker
Happy Wednesday! If you’re new here, welcome to Necessary Nuggets, your one-stop pre-seed shop. We deliver updates from Necessary Ventures and helpful tidbits on our little corner of the world. Every edition is also on our blog.
Happenings at Necessary Ventures:
Mending launched Mending Access, a platform that integrates Direct Primary Care into employer-sponsored health plans and TPA workflows. Since January 2026, it has expanded DPC access to over 100,000 covered lives.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
A new Cambridge-led study found that areas surrounding data centers saw land temperatures rise by an average of 2°C over the past two decades.
Eclipse just closed a $1.3 billion fund dedicated to physical AI, targeting robotics, autonomous systems, and smart manufacturing.
Japan’s workforce is rapidly shrinking, forcing companies to deploy AI-powered robots across factories, logistics, and infrastructure as a matter of industrial survival.
For the less rushed reader …
Too hot to compute
AI infrastructure is generating more than just returns. A new Cambridge-led study found that areas surrounding data centers saw land temperatures rise by an average of 2°C over the past two decades. Some temperature spikes were as high as 9°C, with effects reaching over 6 miles and potentially impacting 343 million people. The problem is one that most people already know: massive clusters of GPUs demand gigawatt-level power and cooling, which pushes energy grids and water resources to their limits. However, critics note the study may be measuring something more obvious: concrete and asphalt are hotter than grass (no duh), and it doesn’t isolate data centers from other large-scale construction. Still, with AI infrastructure spend projected to hit $760B next year and two-thirds of hyperscaler commitments not yet live, the real heat is the growing tension between scaling compute and managing its environmental and economic footprint. Turns out, the cloud isn’t as airy as it sounds.
Hard cash for hardware
One venture firm is betting the next wave of AI innovation won’t have its head in the cloud. Eclipse just closed a $1.3 billion fund dedicated to physical AI, targeting robotics, autonomous systems, and smart manufacturing. The $1.3 billion fund will be split into two parts: a $591 million early-stage incubation fund and one oriented toward growth-stage startups. The hybrid model gives Eclipse more control over early direction and ownership, especially in a category where long development cycles, supply chains, and capital intensity make traditional venture playbooks harder to execute. The timing is almost perfect: hardware costs are decreasing; robotics is gaining steady traction; and labor shortages are more and more prevalent. Physical AI isn’t just a science project anymore. However, acting as both investor and creator, Eclipse may end up competing with the very founders it wants to fund. It’s out of the chat and onto the factory floor for AI.
Workforce struggles? What a-bot it?
There’s no need for human capital when capital can replace humans. Japan’s workforce is rapidly shrinking, forcing companies to deploy AI-powered robots across factories, logistics, and infrastructure as a matter of industrial survival. With the shift, Japan’s government is aiming to capture 30% of the global market by 2040. The country already dominates in robotics hardware, but the next battle is implementing full-stack systems that tightly integrate software, data, and control, i.e., an area where the U.S. has historically led. There’s a clear takeaway for U.S. founders: software isn’t enough for physical AI to succeed, and defensibility should be rooted in owning deployment and integration just as much as models. Japan’s dynamic also hints at a more collaborative ecosystem than Silicon Valley’s usual winner-take-all dynamic, whereas Japanese incumbents lead with scale and startups drive innovation. Forget lean teams; the new standard is machine teams.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$24.8M
31
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
THE CONCENTRATION GAME
Based on data from April 2025 to March 2026, a majority of Seed rounds (59%) raised under $5 million, with a median raise of $4.1 million. This trend shifts rapidly at Series A, where the median raise nearly triples to $12.0M and most deals (41%) fall into the $10 to $24 million range.
healthtech
Sub-Q Bionics - Getting under everyone's skin.
Sub-Q Bionics raised $1.5 million from the Israel Innovation Authority, Mayo Clinic, Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd. Sub-Q Bionics is creating a subcutaneous implant that functions like a bionic lymph node for lymphedema patients.
healthtech
Pocket - No pain, only gains.
Pocket raised $1.3 million from 2048 Ventures, MGV, and Underdog Labs. Pocket is developing an AI-powered platform that automates front-office workflows for rehab therapy clinics.
AI
Gander Robotics - Throwing a lifeline(AI)ne.
Gander Robotics raised $1.1 million from Impellent Ventures and Underscore VC. Gander Robotics is building an autonomous rescue system that locates and assists overboard individuals at sea.
JOBORTUNITIES
| VP of Finance | - Copper:
Rethinking the induction stove and making kitchen electrification more accessible than ever. Picture a fossil-free future, without sacrificing aesthetics.
| Full Stack Software Engineer | - OneImaging:
Envisioning the future of transportation beyond cars and into the realm of personal electric vehicles. Its first product, P1, is the ultimate tool for city navigation.
Outro🚪
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