- Roboforce raised $10 million in funding to make an AI robotic workforce.
- The startup, founded in 2023, develops robots for manufacturing and outdoor tasks.
- The funding will be used to expand the team, scale robot development, and launch pilot projects.
Robotics startup Roboforce has raised $10 million in an early-stage funding round led by Nobel laureate economist Myron Scholes. Gary Rieschel, who previously spearheaded Softbank's U.S. venture capital group, and Carnegie Mellon University, the alma mater of Roboforce co-founders Leo Ma and Calvin Zhou, also participated in the round.
The Milpitas, Calif.-based startup, which launched in 2023, makes AI-powered robots that carry out manufacturing tasks. The company's robots use artificial intelligence to move themselves and perform duties that require fine motor skills, like screwing in nuts and bolts, with one millimeter of accuracy, Ma told Business Insider.
The robots are also capable of working on physical projects in tough outdoor conditions, like installing solar centers in deserts, he said. They are controlled by an AI model, developed in-house at Roboforce, and some human intervention, though the company intends for the robots to reach full autonomy.
The 15-person company will use the funding to double the size of its team, scale its robot development, and roll out pilot projects with early customers. Currently, Roboforce has a fleet of under ten robots and hopes to reach double digits this year. Veeral Hardev, who runs business development, said the robots will be leased to customers through a subscription model.
Ma previously co-founded and led engineering at Cyngn, an autonomous industrial vehicle company that went public in October 2021. "Building AI robotics is all I do," Ma said. "My heart is in building AI robotics."
Ma, whose parents work in manufacturing, has been interested in automating production since childhood. Over the past decade, he has visited over 200 factories to study industrial automation. "The most tedious, demanding, repetitive, and dangerous work—we really shouldn't have to have a human do it," Ma said.
Ma and Roboforce's co-founder and vice president of engineering, Calvin Zhou, met while they were studying computer science at Carnegie Mellon. Zhou previously worked at Cruise, a self-driving robotaxi subsidiary of General Motors.
A handful of other companies are also developing robots with human-like capabilities. Elon Musk unveiled his robot, Optimus, at Tesla's Robotaxi Day in October 2024. Figure, which raised a $70 million Series A in 2023, builds robots that can complete general tasks autonomously. And Sanctuary AI, another labor market-focused robot startup, is on the market for more funding, The Logic reported on Tuesday.
Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck Roboforce used to raise $10 million.