Stablecoin issuer Tether is reportedly considering a significant investment of $1.15 billion in the German artificial intelligence robotics startup Neura. This potential deal would mark a substantial expansion of Tether's involvement in the rapidly advancing AI sector.
According to a report from the Financial Times, which cited individuals with direct knowledge of the matter, the transaction could value Neura between $9.3 billion and $11.6 billion. While the Financial Times indicated that discussions were ongoing, neither Tether nor Neura has officially confirmed the potential 1 billion euro ($1.15 billion) deal.
This reported investment would add to Tether's existing portfolio of 140 companies. The stablecoin issuer has been diversifying its interests beyond Bitcoin mining, extending its reach into areas such as artificial intelligence, energy, finance, and even sports teams.
An investment in Neura would serve to bolster the development of robotics designed for enhanced automation.
Neura's robots are intended to assist both humans and AI in a variety of tasks. These include streamlining production processes in manufacturing and other business environments, as well as performing domestic chores. The company has outlined plans to produce 5 million robots by 2030 to fulfill these functions.
AI robots may soon be able to help with taking out the trash and any other mundane chores you can think of. NEURA Robotics CEO David Reger says robot 4NE-1 'should be able to do things which we don't like to do' pic.twitter.com/ZVdGovL3h5
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 8, 2024
Tether's Financial Performance and Diversification
Tether has demonstrated strong financial performance, reporting a net profit exceeding $10 billion through the first three quarters of 2025, as detailed in its Q3 attestation report released on October 31. This follows a substantial profit of $13.4 billion in 2024, positioning Tether as one of the world's most profitable companies on a per-employee basis. The company's primary revenue stream comes from interest earned on U.S. Treasury bills that back its Tether (USDT) stablecoin, which currently has a market value of approximately $184 billion.
Further demonstrating its strategic expansion, Tether recently confirmed its entry into commodity-trade lending. CEO Paolo Ardoino informed Bloomberg that the company has already allocated around $1.5 billion to this sector, aiming to gain exposure to agricultural products and oil.
Tether has also ventured into tokenized gold products with Tether Gold (XAUT). The market capitalization of Tether Gold has seen a significant increase of 70% over the past three months, reaching over $2.1 billion, coinciding with a strong rally in gold prices.
This move into commodities follows reports from late September suggesting Tether was exploring a $20 billion fundraising round. Such a round could potentially elevate its valuation to $500 billion, bringing it into a similar valuation range as OpenAI.