Embodied AI, a Lausanne-based robotics startup developing intelligent machines for manufacturing and logistics, has launched with a first financing round led by Faber VC as it seeks to build a robotic workforce capable of learning directly on industrial production lines. The company did not disclose the size of the round.
The financing also included participation from Techshop Capital, Look AI Ventures, Kickfund, Plug and Play San Francisco, Excellis and Vento. Embodied AI plans to use the capital to deploy its Physical AI technology with European manufacturers, expand robot production, improve its data collection and AI model-training infrastructure, and grow its engineering and commercial teams.
Embodied AI is targeting manufacturing tasks that have traditionally been difficult to automate because they require dexterity, adaptability or frequent changes in production.
The company’s initial applications include electronics manufacturing, kitting, flexible cable handling, logistics and automotive assembly. Its robots are designed to work in real-world environments alongside people rather than being limited to highly structured industrial processes.
Embodied AI’s strategy differs from approaches centered on creating a single general-purpose robotics foundation model.
Instead, the company is developing what it calls an “Embodied AI flywheel,” which combines multiple task-specific AI models, data collection, teleoperation and robotic hardware. The system is designed to allow smaller custom models to be trained directly in production while maintaining the reliability needed to keep industrial operations running.
A human-in-the-loop architecture allows operators to remotely intervene when a robot encounters an unfamiliar situation. Those interventions can immediately resolve production issues while also generating additional data that can be used to improve the underlying models.
Over time, the company expects that cycle of deployment, human intervention and retraining to move individual tasks toward higher levels of autonomy.
Safety is also being addressed at the hardware level. Embodied AI said its robots are engineered with physical safety incorporated directly into their mechanical design, creating an additional protection layer for systems intended to operate around people.
The startup is pursuing a vertically integrated strategy spanning proprietary soft-robotic hardware, teleoperation and autonomy software. The goal is to control the complete robotics stack and reduce the amount of time required to deploy automation inside existing manufacturing environments.
In the near term, Embodied AI plans to put its systems directly onto production lines operated by major European manufacturers.
A later phase will focus on expanding production capacity and further developing the data collection and model-training pipeline needed to support a larger robotic fleet. The company also intends to recruit researchers, engineers and commercial executives for its operations in Lausanne and Rome.
Embodied AI is led by co-founder and CEO Francesco Stella, who holds a Ph.D. in robotics and AI from EPFL and previously conducted research at MIT CSAIL.
Co-founder and CTO Kai Junge holds a master’s degree from Cambridge and a Ph.D. in robotic manipulation from EPFL, while co-founder and COO Max Polzin trained at ETH Zurich and EPFL and previously helped scale Seervision through its eventual exit.
The broader technical team includes scientists and engineers with backgrounds at institutions including Oxford, TU Delft and MIT.
Embodied AI’s scientific board includes Prof. Cosimo Della Santina, affiliated with TU Delft, the German Aerospace Center and MIT, and Prof. Josie Hughes, whose background includes EPFL, Cambridge and MIT.
The startup said it is already working with some of Europe’s largest manufacturers, with robots being deployed on factory floors for electronics production, logistics applications and automotive assembly.
Embodied AI has also been selected as a Google DeepMind partner and participates in NVIDIA’s Inception program.
The company is positioning its technology as part of a broader effort to improve European manufacturing competitiveness as production shifts toward regions with lower costs and greater industrial scale.
Rather than focusing on futuristic demonstrations of general-purpose humanoid robotics, Embodied AI is concentrating initially on specific industrial tasks where customers can measure productivity improvements and financial returns.
Its longer-term ambition is to create a scalable European robotic workforce that can continuously learn from real-world deployment while remaining safe enough to operate alongside human workers.
Headquartered in Lausanne, Embodied AI is opening an office in Rome and already maintains a presence in Delft and Boston.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our thesis around Embodied AI was centered on backing exceptional teams with the potential to redefine how robotics is built and deployed, and we believe the company represents exactly that kind of opportunity. By vertically integrating proprietary soft-robotic hardware, teleoperation and autonomy-ready software, Embodied AI is creating a fundamentally new robotics platform, inherently safe, cost-effective and designed for real-world deployment.”
Sofia Santos, Partner at Faber VC
“As a venture investor, we’ve made a strong bet on physical AI, backing several companies in the space already because we anticipate the next wave of value creation will come as intelligence moves off the screen and gets into the real world. What convinced us most about Embodied AI was the team’s genuine ambition and strong technical expertise, together with its pragmatic focus on real industrial needs.”
Aurelio Mezzotero, Partner at Techshop Capital
“Our approach prioritises practicality over the hype of the moment. We are starting by deploying robots with a physically safe design that learn through remote operations. This allows us to focus on learning the specific task at hand, pushing the boundaries of what can currently be automated. The capital raised will enable us to bring our technology stack directly onto our customers’ production lines, demonstrating ROI, and to lay the groundwork for the development of our European robotic workforce.”
Francesco Stella, Co-Founder and CEO of Embodied AI
