A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – CONSUMER ROBOTICS
- Humatics, developer of control systems for enabling collaborative behavior in robots, raised $16.5M in a Series A round. Link
- Dobot, consumer focussed 4-axis robot arm, raised $10M in a Series A round from Shenzhen Capital Group. Link
- Screamtec, developer of robotic exoskeletons, raised $4.3M in a Seed round from Bojang Capital Management. Link
- LuxRobo, developer of opensource robot for education, raised $3.5M in a Series A round from Kakao Investment and Kakao Brain. Link
- WiBotic, developer of wireless charging solution for robots, raised $2.5M in a Seed round involving Tsing Capital, Comet Labs, Washington Research Foundation and others. Link
- Catalia Health, personal robot for medical adherence, raised $2.5M in a Seed round from Khosla Ventures. Link
- Mech-Mind, developer of intelligence for robots, raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round from China Growth Capital. Link
- OhmniLabs, developer of telepresence robot for the elderly, raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed round from Monk’s Hill Ventures. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Titanobots (2016, Bangalore) – Stealth mode company developing a robotic device for learning programming and fostering creativity in kids.
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.
Neato Robotics (2005, Newark, $44M) – Develops robotic vacuum cleaning devices. Backed by Noventi Ventures, Vorwerk Direct Selling Ventures.
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.
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.
Kiwi666 (2011, Beijing, $9M) – Developer of smart housekeeping and security robots. Backed by Sequoia Capital.
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, $100.5M) – 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.
Dobot (2014, Guangdong, $13M) – Developer of robotic arms for learning and experimentation. Backed by Shenzhen Capital Group.
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.
Tech Enablers
CloudMinds (2015, Shenzhen, $130M) – Develops cloud computing and AI for robotics. Backed by Foxconn, Walden International, SB China Capital and Kaixuan Capital.
Humatics (2002, Cambridge, $16.5M) – Developer of technology for making robots collaborative through microlocation.
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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