- Labrador Systems recently announced it raised $3.1 million in a seed round of funding. These are the details.
Labrador Systems – an early-stage technology company developing a new generation of assistive robots – recently announced it raised $3.1 million in a seed round of funding.
Amazon’s Alexa Fund and iRobot Ventures co-led the round with SOSV returning and new investors, including Grep VC. The company also introduced The Labrador Retriever, a new type of personal robot that empowers individuals to live more independently by providing practical, physical assistance with everyday activities in the home.
This investment will be used for expanding Labrador’s consumer and commercial activities, growing its engineering team, and accelerating efforts with its manufacturing partners.
And the Labrador Retriever lightens the load for individuals where pain, injury or other health conditions impact their daily activities. Plus it is large enough to carry items such as a laundry basket but agile enough to navigate the tight spaces of a home. The Retriever also features an innovative retrieval and delivery system to bring items within reach. Users can easily command the Retriever using their smartphone or with their voice through an Alexa-enabled device.
Labrador’s platform was designed from the ground up to be part of an expanding ecosystem of products and services. And along with the Retriever, Labrador announced plans to offer an entry-level version of the robot, the Labrador Caddie, to provide different pricing and features based on the user’s needs. Plus the company is also working with care providers in senior living, physical therapy, and home health to explore ways the Labrador platform can support their mission and extend the impact of caregivers in a number of settings.
KEY QUOTES:
“Labrador is advancing the state of the art in what it means to provide assistance to people aging and with mobility challenges. They are addressing a significant problem in our society and have brought their decades of experience in consumer robotics to bear, delivering a product that will help empower people to live better lives.”
— Paul Bernard, Director of the Alexa Fund
“This is the first time we’ve seen this class of robot developed for the home; until now this level of functionality has been confined to warehouses and other commercial environments. We’re impressed with how the team is enabling robotics and navigation systems to run on low-cost consumer grade electronics to provide more independence for millions of individuals.”
— Paul Willard, Partner at Grep VC
“This is the robot everybody was looking for.”
— SOSV General Partner Cyril Ebersweiler
