9 Robotics Startups to Watch
Investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into startups using generative AI to train robots to handle objects just like humans do
To train artificial intelligence–powered robots to pick a book off a shelf a decade ago, researchers had to direct the robots to perform the task roughly 500 times before the robots learned to imitate the motion, recalls Brad Porter, founder and CEO of Collaborative Robotics, which is developing robots to work in hospitals and warehouses. These days the robots can successfully grab a book after only 20 trials—which is “much easier to get an intern to do,” he said.
Transformers—the foundational AI technology behind chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude—are helping robots learn more quickly. While most AI applications have focused on generating text and images, robotics startups are betting that AI will also help robots take actions, from unloading boxes to bagging groceries.