Ultra raises $62 million for fast-growing ‘robots as a service’ business, announces tie-up with AI research firm Physical Intelligence

Finance editor Jeff John Roberts here.

The explosive growth of the robotics industry in recent years is reflected in new technology feats, but also by the proliferation of new business and distribution models.

Ultra, a startup that leases its devices to warehouses under a monthly “robots as a service” model, is a case in point.

On Friday, the Brooklyn-based company announced it had raised $62 million, while also deepening a partnership with the buzzy “robot brains” AI firm Physical Intelligence.

Ultra’s funding came in two rounds: a $50 million Series A led by Framework Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, and an earlier $12 million seed round led by the latter and Next View.

In an interview with Term Sheet, Ultra CEO and co-founder Jon Miller Schwartz made a point we’re hearing a lot these days: Namely, he says humanoid robots get the lion’s share of attention, but that it is other forms of robots that are having the most impact in the real world.

This phenomenon is hardly a new one: Recall how, in the 1980s, fictional robots like C3PO and Terminator’s T-800 captured the popular imagination, even as people gave little notice to new robotic arms doing actual work in auto factories.

Today, humanoid robots have made their way from the movie screen into real life, but they are prone to falling over, and their makers are struggling to deploy them in everyday situations.

Ultra’s robots, on the other hand, can be found in warehouses across the country and according to the company, the devices have packed more than half a million orders for shipping.

Unlike many Silicon Valley engineers, Schwartz studied mechanical engineering, which means he and his team spend their days doing hands-on stuff with metal parts, cables and motors.

That includes going to so-called 3PL (third party logistics) sites, and installing Ultra’s robots that specialize in packing goods for transit.

Ultra’s contraptions are part of a growing robot empire taking over the country’s warehouse and logistics operations.

Notable players in the space include France-based Exotec , whose robots specialize in climbing vertical racks to retrieve things and, of course, Amazon and its fleet of devices working alongside humans in hubs across the U.S.

There is also Uber founder Travis Kalanick, who is also firmly in the non-humanoid robot, and who recently stepped back into the public eye with a plan to complete what he started at the ride-sharing firm.