A startup robotics company owned by electric vehicle maker Rivian and founded by Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has secured $500 million in startup capital. Mind Robotics announced an investment Wednesday by Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, often referred to as a16z. Mind Robotics plans to build AI powered industrial robots.
“Existing industrial robotics can perform repeatable, dimensionally stable tasks, but a large share of factory value-add work requires human-like dexterity, adaptation and physical reasoning that classical robotics cannot address. Mind Robotics is building the AI foundation—models, hardware and deployment infrastructure—to close that gap,” said the company in a news release announcing the financing.
The company provides a very large data flywheel for training the models and an at-scale launch environment. It uses Rivian’s engineering talent and production data from its plant in Normal.
“As AI enters the physical world, we believe the largest, at-scale application for advanced robotics will be across the industrial sector,” said Scaringe. “Advanced robotics are going to be critical for global competitiveness, as well as addressing the substantial industrial labor shortages that exist today. We’re building robots that will perform real tasks, in real plants, at real scale.”
Sameer Gandhi, partner at Accel, said Rivian and the Mind Robotics team have a good track record.
“They helped build one of the most ambitious manufacturing operations in the EV industry. That kind of execution doesn’t happen by accident; it reflects the quality of the people behind it. RJ is a disciplined and visionary leader and we believe AI industrial robotics enables one of the most exciting technological shifts of our time,” said Gandhi.
Sarah Wang, general partner at a16z said Scaringe is one of the very few founders who has built and scaled a vertically integrated hardware company.
“At Rivian, he architected the full stack — vehicle architecture, electronics, battery systems, embedded software, manufacturing processes and supply chains — integrating each layer into a cohesive system. That kind of end-to-end systems leadership is precisely what it takes to build a generational robotics company,” said Wang.
The new funding follows $115 million in earlier startup financing from Eclipse Capital announced late last year. Accel will get a seat on the Mind Robotics board, filled by Sameer Gandhi.
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