This episode of The Robot Report Podcast is brought to you by Weintek USA. Let Weintek USA help solve your HMI supply headaches! With advanced features, communication drivers for all common PLCs and free software, transitioning to Weintek USA solutions is simple. Welcome to Episode 88 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Our guest this week is Peter Finn, managing director of Cowen's Industrials investment banking group.

In the growing lexicon of disruptive technological advances and investments, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are two of the most credible and compelling. The ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (NYSEARCA: ARKQ) is one of the ETFs best suited to capitalize on those themes. What makes ARKQ increasingly relevant in today's investing landscape is that it features a harmonious approach to accessing automation and innovation whereas some rival funds emphasize one, but not both of those concepts. Additionally, automation often gets a bum rap because it's seen as a jobs killer, but the opposite could prove true over time. "Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, together, is the augmentation and imitation of human activity and behavior to increase output or efficiency," according to a recent report by Nasdaq Global Indexes.

I visited Boston last week and met with a number of robotics researchers, startups and established companies -- more on that later -- in the lead up to TechCrunch's fourth annual TC Sessions Robotics AI in early March. A big part of prepping for that event and my recent trip involved surveying some of the biggest funding raises from the past year. A quick survey of these trends finds most investments concentrated in a handful of key categories. From there, we can get a pretty clear view of what the robotics industry will look like in the coming years and the roles we can expect these machines to play in our daily lives. The definition of robotics is, of course, broad and only getting broader, as these technologies grow and mature.