ROSCon, Humanoids, robotics news and some more startup failures

Plus what the patent landscape looks like for humanoids and robot dexterity

Are you at ROSCon 2024? Come say hi at the IEEE RAS “Manufacturing for Robot Startups” Room 209 Birds of a Feather Session today (Monday 21st) or at IEEE RAS Booth 25 or at the Women in Robotics Lunch Meetup on Tuesday 22nd in the Cafeteria. The agenda in Odense is jampacked with goodness and that’s not counting the technical tours, social events and adjacent conferences, ROS Industrial and ICSR, the International Conference on Social Robotics.

When will the humanoid patent wars break out?

Read more at TechIP

Singularity U, Saudi Aramco, Masters & Robots...

Last week I gave robotics presentations at Singularity U’s Expert Sessions and to Saudi Aramco. This week I’m also giving a keynote at Masters and Robots in Poland.

We’ve had to postpone the SVR Robotics Investor Summit from Nov 1 to Jan 30, however, there are several other new events and we’ll be doing some virtual startup networking in November. The soft launch of Circuit Launch Mountain View is now Dec 7th with DIY Robocars and a Brazilian BBQ ! Plus we have startup booth options for you at Humanoids Summit Dec 11-12 and the SVR/IEEE RAS “Manufacturing for Robotics Startups” workshop on Dec 13.

#CircuitLaunchMountainView #Bots&Beer #Humanoids #HumanoidsSummit #Robocars #DIYRobocars #BrazilianBBQ #CircuitLaunch #SiliconValleyRobotics

The new Circuit Launch Mountain View (and Silicon Valley Robotics HQ2) is at 599 Fairchild Dr Mountain View. It was the home of Hacker Dojo and then Boston Dynamics! And also where Silicon Valley Robotics had our first office.

Humanoids Summit - First exhibitors and speakers Announced!

Silicon Valley Robotics is proud to be the strategic advisor for the first Humanoids Summit, Dec 11th and 12th at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.

The first speakers to be announced include Jonathan Hurst from Agility Robotics. You’ll also meed 1X, Apptronik, Kind Humanoids, Engineered Arts, Enchanted Tools and Hanson Robotics. And we’re just getting started.

The Summit has expanded to three tracks in order to accommodate more stellar speakers and exhibitors, and if you’re a Silicon Valley Robotics member you get a great discount on exhibiting and attending.

SVR Investor Summit:

Apologies for the delay updating you, but we aren't quite ready to move ahead with the Silicon Valley Robotics Investor Summit on Nov 1st with the new location in Mountain View, although we've 'soft launched' CLMV for new members/tenants. Instead of the in person summit, on Nov 1st we will start virtual outreach our investor community with your short startup profiles - with your permission and after we confirm details with each of you.

ALL registrations will also forward to Jan 30th 2025. Please ignore the accepted/pending/notaccepted as we update Luma.

More robotics startup failures

CB Insights has summarized some recent high profile/high value startup failures, including some in the robotics automation space - particularly self-driving.

Convoy

Convoy operated a digital freight network that attracted investors like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. However, the company — run by executives without trucking experience — struggled to transform its intentionally money-losing model into a profitable business. Its financial challenges were only exacerbated by a downturn in shipping demand — and the concurrent contraction in the venture capital market left it without a means to raise cash, leading to its closure.

• Select VC investors: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, Y Combinator, CapitalG
• Total equity funding: $836M
• Peak valuation: $3.8B

Instant Insights: Convoy shuts down amid financial turmoil in October 2023

• Convoy, once considered the “Uber for trucking,” ceased operations after unsuccessfully trying to raise fresh capital or find a buyer.
• Convoy’s revenue plummeted in the first nine months of 2023, hitting $320M vs. the $630M it generated in full-year 2022.
• The firm eventually directed employees to halt taking new orders and cancel existing shipments.

Source: theinformation.com

Ghost Autonomy

Ghost Autonomy was a developer of autonomous driving software initially focused on supporting highway navigation for passenger vehicles. The company pivoted multiple times over the years, but it struggled to commercialize its products successfully despite raising substantial funding. Ultimately, the company indicated it didn’t see a path to securing the long-term investment it needed to continue developing and eventually commercialize its autonomous driving solutions.

• Select VC investors: OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, Coatue
• Total equity funding: $239M
• Peak valuation: $518M

Instant Insights: Ghost Autonomy shuts down in April 2024, future of assets uncertain

• Ghost Autonomy ceased operations after failing to fulfill its promise of developing autonomous driving technology.
• Despite receiving substantial venture funding, including $5M from the OpenAI Startup Fund, Ghost Autonomy could not commercialize its product.
• The company’s focus shifted from a consumer kit enabling highway autonomy to crash prevention tech and lastly to large language models for self-driving, but these pivots did not lead to a marketable product.

Sources: startupitalia.eu, siliconangle.com, ca.movies.yahoo.com

Superpedestrian

Superpedestrian was a transportation robotics startup focused on micromobility devices like electric scooters. The company raised several funding rounds following its founding in 2012, drawing support from prominent institutional and individual investors. However, Superpedestrian ran into several challenges, including city regulations, compliance costs, a lack of marketing, and ultimately, financial strain. The company sought an exit via M&A, but the deal fell through, forcing it to close.

• Select VC investors: General Catalyst, Sony Innovation Fund, Citi Ventures, Spark Capital
• Total equity funding: $118M
• Peak valuation: $560M

Instant Insights: Funding challenges lead Superpedestrian to shutter in December 2023

• Superpedestrian’s plans for a merger and fresh funding fell through at the end of 2023, leading the company to halt operations and lay off most of its staff.
• At the time of closure, the company was exploring the sale of its European business.
• The company’s woes have been shared by other micromobility players, like Bird, Spin, and Micromobility.com, signaling that pressure is weighing on the broader micromobility market.

Source: techcrunch.com

Phantom Auto

Remote driving startup Phantom Auto started out supporting autonomous vehicles on public roads, such as robotaxis and self-driving trucks. Following a pivot to logistics, the company gained traction. However, its ability to scale remained contingent upon external funding sources, putting it in a vulnerable position as funding dried up amid the venture slowdown. Unable to close a new funding round, the company was forced to shutter its operations.

• Select VC investors: Alumni Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, ArcBest, NFI
• Total equity funding: $86M
• Peak valuation: $525M

Instant Insights: Phantom Auto closes shop in March 2024 amid funding shortfall

• Phantom Auto failed to secure the additional funding necessary to continue operations.
• External funding dependence and unforeseen difficulties securing a new round were critical factors leading to the shutdown.
• The startup pivoted in 2019 to concentrate on logistics, but commercial deployment challenges and a tough fundraising environment forced it to close.

Sources: techcrunch.com, linkedin.com

Rise of the Robots - Reuters

When will the humanoid patent wars break out? - T+P

This three person robotics startup is working with designer Yves Behar to bring humanoids home - TechCrunch

Collaborative Robotics hires a former Amazon AI leader, opens Seattle office after $100M round - Microsoft News

Meet the millenial CEO of the $304 million-a-year robotics giant that’s partnered with NVIDIA - Fortune

Horizon Robotics seeks $696 million in Hong Kong IPO, would be city’s largest in 2024 - Reuters

Boston Dynamics and Toyota Research Team Up on Robots - The partnership aims to make Atlas into a general-purpose humanoid - IEEE Spectrum

Robots and AI-powered assistive tech are poised to transform accessibility and mobility - Business Insider

Takayuki Ito Elected President of the International Federation of Robotics - IFR

Low-cost touch sensor shows promise for large-scale robotics applications - Tech Xplore

Folding the future: The rise of origami-inspired robots - NSF

Google tests robots for managing data center hard drives and equipment - DCD

Corvus Robotics soars to new heights with Series A round for drone inventory - The Robot Report

Bipedal robot combines multiple sci-fi franchises - Boing Boing

Remote-control robots could help humanity explore the moon and Mars - Space.com

Serve Robotics Rolls Out Third Generation Autonomous Delivery Robot; Platform Upgrade Will Support National Scaling - Globe Newswire

What it’s like getting a robot massage at Equinox - NYLON

Kinetic Automation is using AI, robotics to make EV repairs easier - Yahoo Finance

Inside a high-tech parking garage where robots valet park your car - CNBC

How robots lift, spin and precisely park a Ferrari - CNBC

Robot-run restaurants are coming to Walmart - Restaurant Business

Inside Amazon’s massive robot rollout: A grand labor experiment with so much at stake - Fortune

China: Walker S1 humanoid robot starts manual jobs at world’s largest EV maker - Interesting Engineering

Humanoid robot could recharge China’s manufacturing labor shortage - South China Morning Post

Humanoid robots hold promise for China but remain far off, says HKU’s robotics head - South China Morning Post

Robot developers keep making it seem like housebots are imminent when they’re decades away - The Conversation

Elon Musk accused of copying designs by I, Robot director - BBC

Fake tech demos, a brief history - Mashable

Robotics Events:

Also see all the events and special offers for startups looking to export or partner overseas from the Dept of Commerce!

FIRA is back! October 22-24 Woodland CA

The local events I’m going to be at…

• Stanford Robotics Center Opening - Nov 2nd - by invitation only
• Bots&Beer - Nov 6 - San Jose CTE
• DIY Robocars & Brazilian BBQ - Dec 7
• Humanoid Robotics Summit - Mountain View - Dec 11 - 12
• SVR Robotics Entrepreneur Workshop on Dec 13 - get the news first here :)

And some more robotics conferences (and I’ll see you at CSAIL, BARS, ROSCon, Masters&Robots, ICSR and more tbd):

• ROSCon Odense DK Oct 21 - Oct 23
• Masters&Robots Warsaw Poland Oct 22 - Oct 23
• ROS Industrial Conference Odense DK Oct 24 - Oct 25
• ICSR+AI Odense DK Oct 24 - Oct 26
• CORL Munich DE Nov 6 - Nov 9
• IEEE Future of Telepresence Pasadena CA Nov 16 - Nov 17
• Humanoids 2024 Nancy FR Nov 26 - Nov 28
• ISRR - 40th Anniversary - Long Beach CA Dec 8 - Dec 12

2025

• HRI 2025 Melbourne Australia March 4 - March 6
• ProMat 2025 Chicago IL Mar 17 - Mar 20
• ICRA 2025 Atlanta Georgia 17 May - 23 May 2025

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