{"slug": "fort-robotics-plans-a-spac-merger-at-a-reported-557m-enterprise-value", "title": "FORT Robotics plans a SPAC merger at a reported $557M enterprise value", "summary": "FORT Robotics, a Philadelphia-based robotics safety company founded by Samuel Reeves, plans to go public through a merger with blank-check company Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp., creating a combined business with an enterprise value of about $557 million, as reported by Bloomberg on August 18. The merged company, to be named FORT Robotics Holdings Inc., would be the first public company dedicated to the safe deployment of 'physical AI,' with more than 600 customers including Ocado.", "body_md": "[FORT Robotics](https://www.fortrobotics.com/?ref=runtimewire), the Philadelphia robotics safety company founded by [Samuel Reeves](https://www.fortrobotics.com/about?ref=runtimewire), plans to go public through a merger with [Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp.](https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/NTWO:US?ref=runtimewire), a blank-check company. The combined business would have an enterprise value of about $557 million, [Bloomberg reported on August 18](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-18/mark-cuban-backed-physical-ai-startup-nears-500-million-spac-deal?ref=runtimewire).\n\nThe merged company would be named FORT Robotics Holdings Inc. FORT describes it as the first public company principally dedicated to the safe deployment of \"physical AI,\" a company claim that packages an old industrial problem in the AI market's preferred language.\n\nReeves founded FORT in 2018 after about a decade working on robotics for landmine clearance. His earlier company, Humanistic Robotics, developed heavy-equipment-based systems intended to detect and clear landmines without exposing people to danger. The underlying problem has remained consistent: keeping powerful machines under human control when their operators are far away or software is making decisions for them.\n\nFORT markets hardware and software for machine safety, cybersecurity, remote control and fleet supervision. Its [product catalog](https://www.fortrobotics.com/products?ref=runtimewire) includes wireless emergency-stop devices, remote controls, vehicle and endpoint safety controllers, and FORT Manager software. The company sells to robot builders, fleet operators and industrial customers across warehousing, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, mining, defense and delivery.\n\n[Bloomberg reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-18/mark-cuban-backed-physical-ai-startup-nears-500-million-spac-deal?ref=runtimewire) that FORT has more than 600 customers, including Ocado. The company's August 2025 funding announcement reported more than 500 customers, approximately 12,000 deployed units and 27 patents. In May 2026, [FORT said](https://www.fortrobotics.com/news/fort-acquires-mapless-ai?hs_amp=true&ref=runtimewire) it had deployed more than 19,000 units. The deployment counts are dated company figures rather than independently audited totals.\n\nThe available materials do not disclose FORT's current revenue, annual recurring revenue, growth rate, cash balance, pricing or headcount. They also do not establish how many of its 600-plus customers are paying customers. Those gaps matter because the proposed enterprise value depends on financial performance that has yet to become visible to prospective public shareholders.\n\n### From landmines to the factory floor\n\nReeves' earlier company, Humanistic Robotics, developed autonomous heavy-equipment systems intended to detect and clear landmines without exposing people to danger, according to FORT's [company biography](https://www.fortrobotics.com/about?ref=runtimewire). FORT's stated origin thesis grew out of safety problems encountered with those machines: autonomous systems need a trusted control, communications and security layer before they can operate around people at scale.\n\nReeves built FORT around safety and control problems he encountered in landmine-clearance robotics before \"physical AI\" became the preferred label. He founded the company in 2018 to sell safety and communications technology across industries, according to [Groundbreakers Magazine](https://groundbreakers.prologis.com/magazine/samuel-reeves?ref=runtimewire). Founding Chief Technology Officer Nathan Bivans had also worked at Humanistic Robotics, where he developed wireless safety protocols for landmine-clearance equipment, after roles at Motorola and Apple, according to [FORT's company biography](https://www.fortrobotics.com/about?ref=runtimewire).\n\n### Mapless adds human supervision\n\nReeves widened FORT's product scope before the proposed listing. On May 27, 2026, FORT [acquired Mapless AI](https://www.fortrobotics.com/news/fort-acquires-mapless-ai?hs_amp=true&ref=runtimewire), an autonomy-supervision company, adding remote human-in-the-loop teleoperation and onboard active-safety technology. FORT said Mapless's team and technology would be integrated into its Trust Platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.\n\nThe acquisition gives FORT technology for supervising autonomous vehicles while they are operating, extending its role beyond emergency controls and secure communications.\n\nNvidia introduced [Halos for Robotics](https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-halos-for-robotics-the-industrys-first-full-stack-safety-system-for-physical-ai?ref=runtimewire) on June 22, 2026, describing a safety system spanning computing hardware, operating software, sensors, safety applications and certification support. Nvidia named FORT among the companies developing functional-safety agents for its outside-in safety framework. Nvidia's Halos platform could give FORT another route to robot builders while also placing the companies in partial competition at the platform level.\n\nThe competitive field extends beyond Nvidia. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/fort-robotics/alternatives-competitors?ref=runtimewire) lists DriveU.auto, 3Laws and Kingdom Technologies among FORT's alternatives. Adjacent platforms address other parts of robot operations: [Formant](https://www.formant.ai/?ref=runtimewire) sells fleet telemetry and operational tools, [InOrbit](https://www.inorbit.ai/product?ref=runtimewire) offers incident management, analytics and remote intervention, and [Viam](https://www.viam.com/platform/security?ref=runtimewire) provides hardware-independent development and management software. FORT's pitch centers on combining functional safety, cybersecurity, secure communications and machine control in one platform.\n\n### $60.5 million before the SPAC\n\n[FORT says it has raised $60.5 million in private funding](https://www.fortrobotics.com/news/fort-secures-additional-18.9m-in-series-b-funding?hs_amp=true&ref=runtimewire), including an $18.9 million Series B extension announced in August 2025. Tiger Global led that extension. Returning investors included [Prime Movers Lab](https://www.primemoverslab.com/?ref=runtimewire), [Mark Cuban Companies](https://markcubancompanies.com/?ref=runtimewire), [FundersClub](https://fundersclub.com/?ref=runtimewire), [Creative Ventures](https://www.creativeventures.vc/?ref=runtimewire), [GRIDS Capital](https://www.gridscapital.com/?ref=runtimewire) and [Ahoy Capital](https://www.ahoycap.com/?ref=runtimewire). [Neman Ventures](https://www.nemanventures.com/?ref=runtimewire), Mana Ventures, Gaingels and Ryuu Co. joined as new investors. Cuban is an investor, not an operating executive at FORT.\n\nThe extension followed a [$25 million Series B in 2022](https://www.fortrobotics.com/news/forts-25mm-series-b-funding-accelerates-expansion-of-its-machine-communications-platform?ref=runtimewire), also led by Tiger Global, which brought FORT's total funding at the time to $41.5 million. Prime Movers Lab had led a [$13 million financing in 2021](https://www.fortrobotics.com/news/press-release-fort-robotics-closes-on-13m-in-funding?ref=runtimewire). None of those announcements disclosed a private-company valuation.\n\n### A SPAC with a clock\n\nNewbury Street II has until November 4, 2026, to complete a business combination unless shareholders approve an extension, according to the SPAC's [SEC filing](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2028027/000121390026024817/ea0279254-10k_newbury2.htm?ref=runtimewire). The deadline gives the SPAC less than three months from Bloomberg's report to close a transaction or obtain more time.\n\nPublicly available transaction terms remain limited. Bloomberg reported an enterprise value of about $557 million, while its headline characterized the deal as valuing FORT near $500 million. The report and company materials reviewed for this article did not establish an expected closing date, transaction equity value, expected cash proceeds, post-merger ownership percentages, financing conditions or a trading ticker. Definitive merger documents would also need to specify shareholder-approval conditions and how redemptions affect the cash delivered to FORT.\n\nThe proposed merger gives Reeves a route to finance FORT's expansion as manufacturers deploy more autonomous machines in workplaces. It also asks public investors to value a safety-and-control supplier without disclosed revenue, margins or cash generation. Reeves built FORT around a control problem he encountered before \"physical AI\" became a fundraising category. Newbury Street II now proposes attaching a $557 million enterprise value to that head start.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/fort-robotics-plans-a-spac-merger-at-a-reported-557m-enterprise-value", "canonical_source": "https://runtimewire.com/article/fort-robotics-plans-557m-spac-deal-robot-safety", "published_at": "2026-08-18 11:12:43+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-18 11:43:47.747582+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["robotics", "ai-safety", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["FORT Robotics", "Samuel Reeves", "Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp.", "FORT Robotics Holdings Inc.", "Bloomberg", "Ocado", "Humanistic Robotics", "Nathan Bivans"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/fort-robotics-plans-a-spac-merger-at-a-reported-557m-enterprise-value", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/fort-robotics-plans-a-spac-merger-at-a-reported-557m-enterprise-value.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/fort-robotics-plans-a-spac-merger-at-a-reported-557m-enterprise-value.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/fort-robotics-plans-a-spac-merger-at-a-reported-557m-enterprise-value.jsonld"}}