• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Your Membership
    • Edit Your Profile
  • Services
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsored posts
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Cart
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Events

Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

  • News
  • Features
  • Video
  • Webinars
  • White papers
  • Press releases
  • Featured companies
    • AMD Xilinx
    • BlueBotics
    • Elite Robot
    • RGo Robotics
    • SICK Sensor Intelligence
    • Vicor Power

Robust AI raises $22.5 million to build ‘world’s first’ industrial-grade cognitive engine for robotics

November 12, 2020 by David Edwards Leave a Comment

Robust.ai, the company pioneering an industrial grade cognitive engine for robots, announced today the close of a $15 million Series A investment round, taking the company’s total funding to date to $22.5 million.

JAZZ Venture Partners led the Series A round and was joined by previous investors Playground Global, Liquid2, Fontinalis, Jaan Tallinn and Mark Leslie. Esther Dyson, Steve Blank and Tim O’Reilly are also angel investors in Robust.ai.

Historically, robots have largely been confined to highly predictable environments; Robust aims to change that by creating a new cognitively-driven AI platform that gives robots the problem-solving capabilities they need to work alongside humans in dynamic, open-ended environments, vastly increasing their potential in complex public spaces.

Robust.AI was founded by a team of serial entrepreneurs and leaders in robotics and artificial intelligence:

  • CEO Gary Marcus, Ph.D., previously CEO/co-founder of Geometric Intelligence, which was acquired by Uber. He is also the bestselling author of five books including Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust, and is professor emeritus of psychology and neural science at NYU
  • CTO Rodney Brooks, Ph.D., previously co-founder of iRobot and Rethink Robotics, co-inventor of Roomba, the best-selling consumer robot of all time, and former director of the MIT Computer Science and AI lab (CSAIL)
  • Chief Science Officer Mohamed Amer, Ph.D., former Senior Technical Manager at the Center for Vision Technologies, SRI International where he led AI and ML projects in machine common sense, communicating with computers, and explainable artificial intelligence
  • COO Anthony Jules, former CTO of Formant.io, an intelligence platform for robot fleets, Senior Product Manager at GoogleX, and COO & VP of Product at Redwood Robotics (acquired by Google)
  • Co-Founder Henrik Christensen is the Qualcomm Chancellor’s Chair of Robot Systems and a Professor of Computer Science at UCSD. He is the Director of UCSD’s Contextual Robotics Institute and is also Co-Founder of ROBO-Global ETF with $3.5 billion in investments in robotics

The team’s extensive experience in robotics and AI has led them to build a solution that could transform the nascent robotics industry into a more robust ecosystem of solutions.

Robust.AI is pioneering a powerful software stack for building and rapidly deploying semantically aware robots that will widen the variety of tasks they can do. This will help companies launch more robust robots faster, with more layers of safety, in the real world, across a wide range of industries.

“The deep-learning, heavy AI approach that many favor today often fails in the real world; in dynamic environments that change rapidly, current-generation robots can easily get confused, which is why we are still a long way from Rosie the Robot ,” said co-founder and CEO Gary Marcus, who announced the funding while speaking at today’s WSJ Pro Artificial Intelligence Executive Forum.

“At Robust, we want to grow the entire robotics industry, by overhauling the software stack for robotics, injecting cognition and common sense into the pipeline, allowing robots to operate in complex environments that were previously out of reach.

“Finding market fit is as important in robots and AI systems as any other product,” said co-founder and CTO Rodney Brooks. “We are building something we believe most robotics companies will find irresistible, taking solutions from single-purpose tools that today function in defined environments, to highly useful systems that can work within our world and all its intricacies.”

“The remarkable advancements in robotics hardware will be further advanced with our software.,” said Anthony Jules, co-founder and COO. “ Through deep partnerships with industry leaders, Robust.AI will build a transformative business where robots will work more successfully in more applications than ever before.”

John Spinale, Managing Partner at JAZZ Venture Partners will join Robust.AI’s board of directors. “It’s refreshing to be working with such a stellar team who are taking a first principles approach to solving the key obstacles to automation and scalability in some of our most important industries,” said Spinale.

“As an investor with a focus on deep technology, I firmly believe in building toward a future where robots can think and reason autonomously in dynamic and unstructured environments,” said Peter Barrett, partner at Playground Global.

“There is no better team in the world to solve this challenging problem than the one assembled by Robust.AI.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Skype
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Pocket

You might also like…

Filed Under: Computing, News Tagged With: ai, artificial, build, building, co-founder, coo, cto, dynamic, environments, industry, intelligence, led, ph.d, product, robot, robotics, robots, robust, robust.ai, science, software, systems, team, work

Join the Robotics & Automation News community

Reader Interactions

You must log in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest articles

  • Insuring against the risks of automation
  • Cheesy technology: Sargento increases outbound fulfillment with Westfalia warehouse automation
  • Ad Blockers Could Be Helpful for Your Privacy
  • LG robots deliver Korean food from Atlanta restaurant
  • Recycleye raises additional $17 million in Series A funding
  • 5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Tesla this 2023
  • Starship expands robotic delivery to more college campuses with Grubhub
  • How Ransomware Attacks Changed the Threat Landscape
  • Supply chain robotics company Symbotic reports $12 billion in orders
  • DHL becomes first to install Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robot to unload trucks

Most Read

  • Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
    Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
  • DHL becomes first to install Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robot to unload trucks
    DHL becomes first to install Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robot to unload trucks
  • Why is My Car Key Stuck in the Ignition?
    Why is My Car Key Stuck in the Ignition?
  • Recycleye raises additional $17 million in Series A funding
    Recycleye raises additional $17 million in Series A funding
  • Why Artificial Intelligence is Digital Marketing’s Future
    Why Artificial Intelligence is Digital Marketing’s Future
  • Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
    Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
  • Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
    Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
  • Supply chain robotics company Symbotic reports $12 billion in orders
    Supply chain robotics company Symbotic reports $12 billion in orders
  • Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
    Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
  • The Best Mechanical Engineering Design Software in 2022
    The Best Mechanical Engineering Design Software in 2022

Overused words

ai applications automated automation automotive autonomous business china companies company control customers data design development digital electric global industrial industry logistics machine manufacturing market mobile operations platform process production robot robotic robotics robots safety software solution solutions system systems technologies technology time vehicle vehicles warehouse

Secondary Sidebar

Latest news

  • Insuring against the risks of automation
  • Cheesy technology: Sargento increases outbound fulfillment with Westfalia warehouse automation
  • Ad Blockers Could Be Helpful for Your Privacy
  • LG robots deliver Korean food from Atlanta restaurant
  • Recycleye raises additional $17 million in Series A funding
  • 5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Tesla this 2023
  • Starship expands robotic delivery to more college campuses with Grubhub
  • How Ransomware Attacks Changed the Threat Landscape
  • Supply chain robotics company Symbotic reports $12 billion in orders
  • DHL becomes first to install Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robot to unload trucks

Footer

We are…

Robotics and Automation News was established in May, 2015, and is now one of the most widely-read websites in its category.

Please consider supporting us by becoming a paying subscriber, or through advertising and sponsorships, or by purchasing products and services through our shop – or a combination of all of the above.

Thank you.

Independent

Archivists

November 2020
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Oct   Dec »

Complex

Old-skool

This website and its associated magazine, and weekly newsletter, are all produced by a small team of experienced journalists and media professionals.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact us at any of the email addresses on our contact page.

We’d be happy to hear from you, and will always reply as soon as possible.

Future-facing

Free, fair and legal

We support the principles of net neutrality and equal opportunities.

Member of The Internet Defense League

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT