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Skild AI Secures $300M to Revolutionize Robotics with General-Purpose AI Brain
In a groundbreaking development for the robotics industry, Pittsburgh-based startup Skild AI has raised $300 million in a Series A funding round, propelling its valuation to $1.5 billion. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Coatue, SoftBank Group, and Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions, with additional participation from other notable investors including Felicis Ventures, Sequoia, and Amazon.
Founded in 2023 by former Carnegie Mellon University professors Abhinav Gupta and Deepak Pathak, Skild AI aims to create a scalable foundation model for robotics that serves as a shared, general-purpose brain across diverse robot embodiments. Unlike traditional robots designed for specific applications, Skild’s model is intended to power a wide range of robots for various tasks, including manipulation, locomotion, and navigation.
“The large-scale model we are building demonstrates unparalleled generalization and emergent capabilities across robots and tasks, providing significant potential for automation within real-world environments,” said Deepak Pathak, CEO and Co-Founder of Skild AI. “We believe Skild AI represents a step change in how robotics will be scaled and has the potential to change the entire physical economy.”
Skild AI’s approach involves training its model on significantly more data points than competing models – at least 1,000 times more, according to the company. This massive dataset allows the AI to develop nuanced behaviors and adapt to various scenarios, potentially revolutionizing industries facing severe labor shortages such as healthcare, construction, warehousing, and manufacturing.
The company’s technology could also address dangerous jobs in environments like oil rigs and machine rooms, where human safety is a concern. By enabling low-cost robots to operate across various industries and perform complex tasks, Skild AI aims to expand the capabilities of robots while democratizing their cost.
Investors are optimistic about Skild AI’s potential. Raviraj Jain, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, stated, “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.”
The funding will be used to scale the company’s model and training datasets for future commercial deployment, as well as to expand its team across AI, robotics, engineering, operations, and security roles.