Cobot raises $100m in series B funding for AI-infused robotics revolution

US startup Collaborative Robotics (Cobot) said on Wednesday it has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round, as investors bet on a new generation of robots incorporated with artificial intelligence capabilities.

The round, valuing Cobot at over $500 million, was led by General Catalyst. Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures and Mayo Clinic also participated, bringing the company’s total funding to more than $140 million.

Founded in 2022 by Brad Porter, the former vice president of robotics at Amazon Cobot plans to use the funding for hiring and ramping up production.

Single-purpose robots previously attracted venture capital funding, but have recently fallen out of favor due its intensive capital needs and relatively narrow use cases.

With the AI funding boom, general-purpose robots such as humanoids have regained investor interest as they capture the imagination with human-like movement and intelligence.

With a manufacturing facility in Santa Clara, California, Cobot now has 35 people and plans to double the number of employees in the next 12 months.

“We’re ready to have robots in the field and want to keep expanding to get more robots out there,” Porter said in an interview.

The startup currently has four customers and is working with companies across the logistics, retail and healthcare sectors.

Porter said his team is working on features powered by large language AI models for the robot to converse with users and produce different levels of actions.

Porter, a longtime veteran in robotics, doesn’t think humanoid forms are ideal for industrial tasks such as moving boxes. Cobot’s robot is about 5’8″ tall and has four wheels, sensors and carts.

“They basically shipped robots to customers for deployment in less than 20 months. Brad’s practical and commercial approach really appeals to us,” said Paul Kwan, managing director at General Catalyst, who will join Cobot’s board. Reuters