2025 was one for the books 🦾

2025 was a huge year for RISE, and we want to say thank you!

This past year, we launched new products, won major awards and grants, brought on top-tier talent, and proved our technology in the real world. None of it would have happened without you! Whether you backed us early, helped spread the word, or simply believed in what we’re building, we’re grateful.

Here’s a look back at we accomplished together, month by month:

JANUARY

• Showcased our robotic arm live at the U.S. Air Force Munitions Lift Rodeo.

• Launched our community investment round, and hit #1 on Wefunder within the first week.

FEBRUARY

• Demoed the Beltdraulic™ Developer Kit at Cambridge Demo All-Stars and named one of Boston’s hottest Series A companies.

• Rated 4.8/5.0 by KingsCrowd and selected to pitch at their Q1 Demo Day.

• Represented RISE at Capitol Hill as a member of the Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government.

MARCH

• Surpassed $750K raised in our campaign!

• Exhibited our Liftgate at the ATA Technology & Maintenance Council Expo in Nashville.

• Earned the GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ for World’s Strongest Robotic Arm Prototype!

• Unveiled the Railgate 5500, our all-electric, fluid-free commercial liftgate.

APRIL

• Celebrated 500+ investors in the round.

• Featured by The Boston Globe.

• Unveiled our second generation  (double-acting) cylinder at Bauma Germany.

• Appeared on the Energy Nerds podcast - the show’s most-viewed episode ever.

• Hit $1M raised, with Kingscrowd investing directly and featuring us on their podcast.

• Secured a strategic EWAAC (Enterprise wide Agile Acquisition Contract) contract with the U.S. Air Force!

• Hosted Boston’s top founders and funders at our HQ, including JPMorgan, Fidelity, and Supermomos.

• Round oversubscribed for the first time.

• Executed the final milestone for our $1.25M Air Force SBIR Phase 2 Contract with AFRL/AFGSC.

MAY

• Attended ClimAtech Boston and scored national press coverage.

• Crossed $2M raised from 1,000+ investors.

• Won a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the U.S. Army.

• Showcased our Beltdraulic Cylinder at the Mines to Mobility Conference in Ontario.

• Selected for MIT Demo Day.

• Welcomed Dan Foran, our new Head of Product.

JUNE

• Selected to pitch in Atlanta as part of KingsCrowd’s regional investor event.

• Attended Robotics Invest, IVT Expo in Germany, and NY Tech Week.

• Featured on The Inspections Podcast and pitched live at Superpowers for Good, where we won Judges’ Choice!

• Passed $2.5M raised.

• Delivered the first Superjammer, the world's strongest robotic arm, to our customer.

JULY

• Expanded our round to meet investor demand.

• Co-hosted a live investor webinar with EVR Motors and Turntide Technologies.

• Appeared on KingsCrowd’s Inside Startup Investing podcast and joined a live fireside chat.

• Landed our first commercial Beltdraulic™ cylinder order!

AUGUST

• Hit $3M raised, becoming the #1 most-funded Reg CF campaign in Massachusetts history.

• Selected for a $3M Tactical Funding Increase through AFWERX.

• Delivered our first commercial cylinder order.

• Oversubscribed for the second time!

• Exhibited at IVT Expo Chicago, FED Supernova, and GVSETS.

SEPTEMBER

• Welcomed Amy DeDeo, our new Head of Manufacturing.

• D3VC joined the round!

• Crossed $3.5M raised, entering the top 1% of Reg CF campaigns of all time.

• Pitched at KingsCrowd Crowdfunding Week.

• Became a most-searched startup on KingsCrowd.

• Attended GSE Expo and the Deep Tech Forum.

• Briefed the U.S. and allied defense community on RISE's capabilities at JMWWR (Joint Munitions World Wide Review).

OCTOBER

• Spoke at RoboBusiness 2025.

• Pitched at Reno Startup Week as a top finalist in the Startup World Cup regional competition.

• Surpassed $4M raised!

• Announced a new partnership with INAV4U, expanding into marine automation.

NOVEMBER

• Named a Top Visionary by USA Today.

• Launched a new Liftgate pilot with early adopters.

• Featured on The Lantern with MGMT Boston, Fox5 News, and Superpowers for Good.

• Celebrated 2,000+ investors and crossed $4.5M raised.

• Delivered a depot-wide demonstration of the Beltdraulic CLD at LEAD (Letterkenny Army Depot).

• Showcased RISE globally at METSTrade Amsterdam.

DECEMBER

• Named a “Boston Startup to Watch in Robotics” by Startup Boston.

• Crossed $5M raised and oversubscribed once again!

• Spoke at the New England Venture Summit.

• Recognized as a standout in MIT Startup Exchange’s year-end roundup.

🚀 Looking Ahead to 2026

Thanks to you, our community round made history in 2025 - raising over $5M from 2,250+ investors and becoming the #1 most-funded Reg CF campaign in the U.S. 

In 2026, we expect to:

• Deliver commercial Beltdraulic products at scale

• Expand into new applications across manufacturing, logistics, defense, and automation

• Form new OEM partnerships and integrate with real-world systems

• And continue building the future of smarter, faster, cleaner machines

Although we are in the process of closing our round, we have opened a waitlist for those who want to join us for early bird terms when it reopens:  invest.riserobotics.com

Thank you for your belief, your support, and your vision. Let’s keep building together.