A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – CONSUMER ROBOTICS
- CloudMinds, developer of cloud-intelligence platform for robots, raised $100M in a Series A round from undisclosed investors. Link
- MakeBlock, developer of robotic kits, raised $29M in a Series B round involving Shenzhen Capital Group and Evolution Media Capital. Link
- MJI Robotics, developer of a tabletop social robot, raised $5M in a Seed round involving Sparx Group. Link
- AMY Robotics, a developer of social telepresence robots, raised $2.2M in a Series A round. Link
- Intuition Robotics, developer of a social companion robot, raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round from iRobot and OurCrowd. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Unirobot (2016, Komae) – Develops a social robot for family use which can learn about personality traits of members and can interact accordingly.
LEADER BOARD – CONSUMER ROBOTICS
Domestic Tasks
Laundroid (1957, Tokyo, $72M) – Develops an autonomous robot that folds laundry. Backed by Panasonic, Daiwa House, University of Tokyo Edge Capital, Shinsei Bank and others.
Petnet (2012, Pasadena, $21M) – Smart pet feeder robot that enables custom feeding and keeps the pet busy. Backed by Grishin Robotics, Kima Ventures, SparkLabs Global Ventures, Launch Capital and iRobot.
Neato Robotics (2005, Newark, $44M) – Develops robotic vacuum cleaning devices. Backed by Noventi Ventures, Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures.
Evolution Robotics (2001, Pasadena, $14M, Acq.) – Robotic household cleaning devices such as vacuum cleaner. Acquired by iRobot for $74M in 2012.
iRobot (1990, New Bedford, IPO) – Robotic household appliances such as vacuum cleaner, floor scrubbing robots and gutter cleaning robots. Went public in 2005.
Personal
UBTech Robotics (2012, Shenzhen, $123M) – Programmable intelligent humanoid robots for consumers. Backed by CDH Fund, Qiming Venture Capital and Citic Securities.
Roobo (2014, Beijing, $100M) – Company developing intelligent home robots. Backed by iFlyTek.
Jibo (2012, Boston, $68M) – Personal social robot that can recognize speech and interact. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Osage Ventures, RRE Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Formation 8 Partners, Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, KDDI Corporation, Netposa Technologies, Dentsu Ventures and Fenox Venture Capital.
A.I.Nemo (2014, Beijing, $30M) – Develops a smart robotic companion with telepresence capabilities. Backed by Innovation Works, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Foxconn.
Aldebaran Robotics (2005, Paris, $20M, Acq.) – Develops humanoid robots for personal use. Acquired by Softbank Group for $100M in 2012.
Entertainment
Anki (2010, SF, $157M) – AI based robotic cars used in racing games. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures and JP Morgan.
Sphero (2010, Boulder, $77M) – Smartphone controlled robotic gaming ball. Backed by Foundry Group, Highway12 Ventures, Mercato Partners, Grishin Robotics, and Walt Disney Interactive.
Healthcare
Artificial Life Source (2007, Singapore, $54M) – Develops teddy bear shaped personal robot and glove shaped remote interface device. Backed by DB Capital Partners.
Bionik Laboratories (2009, Toronto, IPO) – Develops lower body exoskeleton that enables wheelchair ridden people to regain ability to walking. Went public in 2015.
ReWalk Robotics (2001, Yokneam Illit, IPO) – Exoskeleton that helps in regaining the ability to walk. Went public in 2014.
Ekso Bionics (2005, Richmond, IPO) – Develops bionic exoskeletons for people with paralysis. Went public in 2014.
AlterG (2005, Fremont, $23M) – Develops anti-gravity treadmill and wearable bionic leg for rehabilitation purposes. Backed by Oxford Finance, Versant Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Astrolabe Ventures and Funk Ventures.
Educational
littlebits (2011, NYC, $60M) – Develops robotic kits which can be snapped together to form interesting creations. Backed by Khosla Ventures, True Ventures, Foundry Group, Two Sigma Ventures and others.
Wonder Workshop (2012, San Mateo, $37M) – Develops robots named Dash and Dot which help in learning robotics. Backed by Charles River Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, GV, WI Harper Group and Maven Ventures.
Makeblock (2011, Shenzhen, $35M) – Open source robot construction and electronic block kits. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Northern Light Venture Capital, Cloud Angel Fund, SOSV and HAX.
RoboRobo (2000, Seoul, $12M) – Develops robot kits and learning courses based on robots. Backed by Zhen Fund and New Oriental.
Vincross (2014, Beijing, $7M) – Develops a multi-legged hexapod robot modelled on a spider. Backed by GGV Capital and ZhenFund.
Modular Robotics (2008, Boulder, $6M) – Develops a robot construction kit. Backed by Foundry Group and National Science Foundation.
Tech Enablers
CloudMinds (2015, Shenzhen, $130M) – Develops cloud computing and AI for robotics. Backed by Foxconn, Walden International, SB China Capital and Kaixuan Capital.
ThynkWare Innovation (2013, Mountain View, $10M) – Develops a brain-computer interface for electronic devices and robot control.
Robart (2009, Linz, $4.1M) – Develops autonomous technology used in household robots. Backed by Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Innovacom and Groupe SEB.
RoboCV (2012, Moscow, $3.5M) – Develops a universal navigation system called ‘Autopilot’, for mobile robots. Backed by VTB Capital Investment Management, LETA Capital, I2BF Global Ventures, Columbus Nova Technology Partners and Almaz Capital.
Leader board includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
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