Emerald Technology Ventures, a Swiss venture capital firm, has entered into a strategic partnership with DIC Corporation, a Japanese chemical manufacturer, establishing a €52 million ($62 million) investment platform focused on emerging technologies across sensing, wearables, robotics, and automation.
Emerald will act as DIC’s strategic venture partner, supporting the sourcing, evaluation, investment, and growth of startups across Europe and North America, accelerating startup investment and business creation in the rapidly growing Physical AI domain.
Gina Domanig, Managing Partner and CEO, Emerald Technology Ventures says, “Partnering with DIC reflects a shared conviction that the next phase of innovation will be driven by technologies that seamlessly integrate human insight with intelligent systems. With physical AI, the real opportunity lies in technologies that work alongside people, enhancing human capability rather than replacing it.
Recent EU-Startups coverage highlights sustained investment activity across physical AI; such as robotics, automation and physical AI in 2025/2026.
In Switzerland, Flexion (Zurich) raised €43 million in Series A funding to develop a reinforcement-learning platform for humanoid robots, while fellow Swiss startup Forgis secured €3.8 million in pre-Seed funding to automate legacy industrial machinery. In Poland, Nomagic raised €8.3 million in a Series B extension to scale AI-driven warehouse robotics internationally, while London-based Stanhope AI attracted €6.7 million in Seed funding to advance adaptive AI for autonomous physical systems. In Romania, .lumen obtained an €11 million grant to expand into urban robotics applications.
Altogether, these rounds represent approximately €73 million in disclosed funding, indicating steady capital flows into Europe’s physical AI and intelligent automation ecosystem.
Against this backdrop, Emerald Technology Ventures’ €52 million partnership with DIC Corporation adds further weight to Switzerland’s position in the sector, particularly given the presence of other Swiss robotics and automation players raising capital during the same period.
Against this backdrop, the €52 million Emerald–DIC investment platform positions itself within an active European funding environment where significant capital is being allocated to sensing, robotics and automation technologies, spanning both growth-stage industrial automation providers and earlier-stage robotics developers.
“By supporting DIC in identifying, investing in and collaborating with advanced startups, we will help translate emerging AI innovations into practical, human-centered solutions that act as a catalyst for DIC’s long-term business evolution,” adds Gina.
Founded in 2000, Emerald Technology Ventures is a VC firm with strong expertise in industrial technology, materials, and CleanTech. With offices across Europe, North America, and Asia, Emerald has a proven track record spanning startup sourcing, investment, and growth support. DIC and Emerald have built a trusted relationship through prior fund investments and joint research activities, with this partnership establishing an even deeper collaborative framework.
DIC Corporation is a fine chemicals companies and the core of the DIC Group, a multinational organisation comprising over 170 companies, including Sun Chemical Corporation, in more than 60 countries and territories. The DIC Group develops a variety of products essential to modern lifestyles, notably packaging materials, display materials such as those used in television and computer displays, and high-performance materials for smartphones and other digital devices, as well as for automobiles.
To further strengthen its global venture activities, DIC plans to establish a startup investment management subsidiary in Zurich in spring 2026.
Switzerland is slowly recognised as a leading European DeepTech innovation hub, offering a dense ecosystem of startups, research institutions, and industrial partners across AI, robotics, and advanced materials. See the 10 Swiss startups to keep an eye on in 2025, as highlighted by the EU-Startups team.
With its headquarters in Zurich and offices across Europe, North America, and Asia, Emerald is well positioned to support DIC’s on-the-ground investment activities, provide local market intelligence, and facilitate collaboration with high-potential startups.
Takashi Ikeda, Representative Director, President and Group CEO, DIC Corporation states, “For many years, DIC has been committed to addressing social imperatives by leveraging the power of materials. Our role is currently undergoing a significant transformation. The physical AI domain has the potential to reshape the relationship between people and technology, making it more natural and intuitive. Our partnership with Emerald represents a major step toward gaining world‑class expertise and networks in this field.
“By working together with pioneering startups, we aim to accelerate our efforts to deliver new value to society. In line with our Direct to Society business creation mechanism, we will continue working to secure indispensable technologies and to deliver experiences that will enrich the lives of people in the future.”
The Physical AI domain represents a fast-expanding market spanning multiple industries, encompassing technologies that sense, interpret, and respond to human movement and environmental conditions through intelligent systems, robotics, and algorithms. Solutions such as smart sensing, wearable devices, soft robotics, and automation technologies offer significant potential to enhance productivity and quality of life, while aligning closely with DIC’s strengths in materials science.
This collaboration also supports DIC’s “Direct to Society (D2S)” framework, which focuses on anticipating future societal challenges and translating innovative solutions into commercially viable businesses. Startup collaboration in Physical AI is a key pillar of this approach, enabling the development of new value propositions that address real-world needs.
Through the partnership, Emerald will leverage its extensive startup sourcing capabilities, cross-border investment experience, and post-investment growth support to help DIC build a diversified portfolio of more than a dozen companies over the next five years.
Together, Emerald and DIC aim to create new strategic options, accelerate innovation, and support the scalable growth of startups operating at the intersection of AI, hardware, and advanced materials.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/02/new-e52-million-platform-targets-next-wave-of-physical-ai-innovation-courtesy-of-swiss-vc-firm-emerald-and-japanese-manufacturer-dic/
