AI robotics startup Skild AI has raised $300 million in a Series A funding round led by , Coatue, Group, and Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions).
Other participating investors include , , , , CRV, , SV Angel, and Carnegie Mellon University.
The startup will use the capital to scale its business model and expand its training datasets for future commercial use. Additionally, the funds will support hiring in AI, robotics, engineering, operations, and security teams.
“Thrilled to announce Skild AI! Over the past year, Abhinav Gupta and I have been working with our top-tier team to build an AI foundation model grounded in the physical world,” Deepak Pathak, Co-founder of Skild AI, wrote in a post on X.
Founded by former Carnegie Mellon University professors Abhinav Gupta and Deepak Pathak in 2023, the startup builds artificial intelligence-powered brains for robots. The funding brings the Pittsburgh-based startup’s valuation to $1.5 billion.
Skild AI claims its model is trained on significantly more data points than competing models—at least 1,000 times more. Unlike robots designed for specific applications, the model is a general-purpose AI that can be used in various robots and scenarios, including tasks related to locomotion and navigation.
“Skild AI has achieved massive breakthroughs in a short period, and we believe they’re a one-of-a-kind company that could redefine our notions of what machines are capable of,” said Raviraj Jain, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Jain added that the company’s innovation around leveraging the core principles of foundation models into the real world puts the industry on the path of general-purpose robotics.
The model will enable low-cost robots to operate across various industries, from handling tough conditions to performing complex tasks in homes and factories.
“A GPT-3 moment is coming to the world of robotics. It will spark a monumental shift that brings advancements similar to what we’ve seen in the world of digital intelligence to the physical world. Since partnering with Skild AI at the seed round, I have deep conviction that they are the team to pursue one of the most ambitious visions of our era,” said Stephanie Zhan, Partner, Sequoia Capital.
The Skild AI team includes robotics and AI experts who have previously worked at , , , , and , as well as universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.
Edited by Suman Singh
