For most retail investors, backing humanoid robotics companies such as Figure AI or Apptronik has been out of reach. Unless you were an institution or an invited angel investor, there was no public ticker to buy, because the companies shaping the category have stayed private.
At 7 a.m. on May 11, a new ticker appeared on Nasdaq: BOT.
The issuer is RoboStrategy, a closed-end fund built specifically around robotics and Physical AI investments. The company presents it as the first public-market vehicle of its kind: one listed stock that wraps a portfolio of robotics companies across private, pre-IPO and public holdings.
What is in the portfolio
| Company | Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Figure AI | Humanoid robots | Private, valued at about $39 billion |
| Apptronik | Humanoid robots | Private |
| Dyna Robotics | Industrial robots | Private |
| Standard Bots | Collaborative robot arms | Private |
| Dexmate | Dexterous manipulation | Private |
The fund also includes undisclosed autonomous systems and supply-chain companies. The named holdings cover much of the top end of humanoid robotics fundraising over the past two years. Figure AI, for example, was valued around $2 billion in 2025 and had reportedly jumped to $39 billion by the first quarter of 2026. Apptronik has also moved from a billion-dollar range into multi-billion-dollar territory.
That pace has been lucrative for venture investors, while public-market investors have mostly watched from the sidelines. RoboStrategy is trying to open a door for them.
Why a closed-end fund instead of an ETF
The structure matters.
A conventional ETF needs underlying assets that can be priced and traded daily. That largely rules out private equity. A closed-end fund does not face the same constraint: the fund itself trades in the secondary market, while its underlying holdings can include private and pre-IPO shares whose values are modeled rather than continuously marked by public trading.
"many robotics startups remain privately held for extended periods"
In plain terms, humanoid robotics companies are unlikely to rush into IPOs. They are still burning capital, valuations may not have peaked, and venture backers may prefer to hold positions longer. Figure AI or Apptronik remaining private for another five years would not be surprising. A closed-end fund is built to bridge that timing gap.
How BOT differs from existing robotics ETFs
Robotics ETFs already exist. iShares, Global X and ROBO Global all offer sizable products. But their portfolios are mostly public industrial robotics and automation names such as ABB and Fanuc. The companies most associated with the current humanoid robotics and Physical AI wave are still private.
That means traditional robotics ETFs have limited access to the core assets driving the new cycle.
BOT is designed to solve that problem by packaging private-stage humanoid robotics leaders into a single publicly traded stock.
The risk is not just the portfolio
The biggest issue with closed-end funds is often the discount or premium between net asset value and share price.
Mechanically, the fund's net asset value is based on the estimated value of its holdings, while the share price is set by public-market trading. Those two numbers often diverge. In a hot market, shares can trade above NAV; in a colder market, they can trade below it.
Many closed-end funds have historically traded at discounts of 20% to 30% for long periods. Whether BOT avoids that pattern will depend on how the market prices robotics exposure.
The underlying valuations are also soft. Figure AI's $39 billion valuation came from its latest funding round. If the market turns, how that number is adjusted, how frequently RoboStrategy reports marks, and whether auditors are involved will determine how real the exposure feels for public investors.
The signal may matter more than the product
Whatever happens to BOT as a stock, the listing itself says something important: capital demand in robotics and Physical AI is beginning to spill into public markets.
Until now, venture firms have funded these companies one by one. This year, valuations have started to strain even that market. Individual rounds can require hundreds of millions of dollars, and pressure to return capital is building. Moving part of the exposure into public markets gives venture investors more room for the next round.
Software AI is already crowded. Physical AI is still early.
The next things to watch are whether BOT has enough trading liquidity in its first few sessions, how large the Figure AI position really is, and whether a second fund with a similar structure arrives to compete.
The biggest humanoid robotics story of 2026 may no longer be whose hardware is strongest. It may be who can cross the gap from private markets into public ones.
Sources: RoboStrategy, CocoLoop, Inc. Lists on NASDAQ Under Ticker "BOT" (GlobeNewswire); RoboStrategy Lists on Nasdaq With Portfolio of Robotics and Physical AI Companies in a Single Stock (AI Insider)