According to Reuters, Kyle Vogt, the former CEO of self-driving company Cruise, has secured $150 million in new funding for his robotics startup, The Bot Company. Greenoaks led the funding round, valuing the company at $2 billion, less than a year after its launch. The investment follows a previous $150 million raised from investors like Spark Capital and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, valuing the company at $550 million. The Bot Company is focused on developing hardware and AI-based software for robots, positioning itself at the forefront of robotics innovation. Investors are optimistic about the company’s potential, driven by its AI-powered robotics that can learn new tasks, tapping into the growing interest in intelligent and adaptive robots. The startup was co-founded by Vogt, Paril Jain, and Luke Holoubek, all with engineering backgrounds at Tesla and GM-owned Cruise. The company aims to create non-humanoid robots to assist with daily tasks, with a particular focus on household chores. The rise of large language models has fueled interest in robotics, enabling robots to understand natural language commands and perform complex functions, making them more intuitive and adaptable for various applications. In a sector where tech giants like Amazon are already heavily invested, startups like The Bot Company are attracting substantial funding and attention, driving a new era of robotics innovation.
According to a source, Eap is expected to earn $2 billion from its $300 million investment in Wiz’s $32 billion sale to Google this week. The report was contributed by Krystal Hu in New York and Anna Tong and Kenrick Cai in San Francisco, with editing by Nick Zieminski.
