Vayu Robotics – an AI company providing high-quality, low-cost robotics solutions – recently announced the closure of its seed financing round of $12.7 Million led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures, ReMY Investors, and others.
Vayu is a non-traditional robotics company that takes a principles-first approach to solve for cost and ease of deployment through two key technologies – a foundation model for mobility and a disruptive low-cost sensing technology that could replace lidar in many mid-range applications. This funding round will enable Vayu to scale product development for AI robotics across markets, including last-mile delivery, factory automation and automotive.
As companies in the U.S. seek to become less reliant on overseas production by revitalizing domestic manufacturing capacity and competitiveness, the demand for robotics and automation will continue to grow. And Vayu’s technology is converging on these two trends, enabling the next wave of sustainable and accessible robotics, most immediately for last-mile delivery.
Vayu was built from the ground up by experts in the fields of machine learning, sensor development and industrial manufacturing, including co-founders Anand Gopalan, former CEO of Velodyne Lidar; Mahesh Krishnamurthi, formerly of Lyft and Apple; and Nitish Srivastava, formerly of Apple and University of Toronto.
KEY QUOTES:
“Vayu is poised to disrupt the market by creating the lowest cost ownership for robots with the best operational economics. We have built an incredibly strong team of engineers with expertise in hardware and software. With this latest round of investment, our team is positioned to bring Vayu’s novel technology to the market through our first customers.”
- Anand Gopalan, CEO at Vayu Robotics
“At Khosla Ventures, we bet early on bold ideas that could be impactful to society. In Vayu, we see a team that is one of the first to leverage advanced sensing technology for machines to be able to navigate the world in a way they could not previously, taking robotics to a new place.”
- Kanu Gulati, partner at Khosla Ventures
“Vayu is leveraging modern technology in creative ways that fit with Lockheed Martin’s 21st Century Security vision. Vayu Robotics has a viable avenue to provide our customers with cutting-edge and cost-effective robotic systems that can introduce a new wave of intelligent, autonomous solutions across multiple domains.”
- Chris Moran, vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Ventures
