Quiet day
Nothing big in the last 24 hours. Here's what led.
Boston Dynamics names Rohit Prasad CEO
The former Amazon executive, who helped build Alexa and led Amazon Nova development, takes over today. He follows Robert Playter's retirement and Amanda McMaster's months as interim CEO. Boston Dynamics says he'll speed up the integration of AI and robotics.
Few takes yet. @jdcapelouto: a new permanent CEO "at a critical time for the American robotics industry". @xmercury_one: "Is Hyundai preparing to list Boston Dynamics, the same way Softbank did with ARM?"
Heat: low · 65K views, 26 posts
Labs news & launches
1. Agility shows Digit 5's costs and how its $300M order pays out
At its Analyst & Investor Day, ahead of its proposed listing, Agility put Digit 5's bill of materials at about $150,000, with robots-as-a-service margins near 50% until it builds 1,000 a year. The $300M, 1,000-robot order releases robots in tranches as Digit 5 proves each use case, and general availability is by the end of 2027.
Few takes, mostly from investors. @SPAC_zilla: "when you see these that's when you buy." @Coexisteven: "Agility is still talking like a company that already has robots in buildings".
Heat: low · 66K views, 25 posts
2. A Tesla Cybercab crashes in Philadelphia
Photos show a Cybercab with its left door panel knocked off after what looks like a low-speed collision. The circumstances aren't confirmed.
People looked at the hardware. @wholemars: "The structural frame of Cybercab is still steel and aluminum. The Reaction Injection Molded pieces are just a decorative cover." @TeslaNewswire: the crash "lets us see behind the Reaction Injection Molded (RIM) door panel."
Heat: low · 84K views, 3 posts
3. Minerva Humanoids comes out of stealth with Roger
Founded by ex-Tesla Optimus and Boston Dynamics engineers, Minerva built Roger, a teleoperated, semi-autonomous humanoid under 100 kg for oil and gas, bomb disposal and hazmat work, from idea to walking in five months. It raised a $10M pre-seed led by General Catalyst.
Welcomed by people who know the market. Angel investor @lukas_m_ziegler, who has deployed robots in oil and gas: "it's one of the toughest markets out there". @JayKapoor: "Dirty Jobs are having their moment" and "$10M is a pre-seed?!"
Heat: low · 44K views, 30 posts
Key research
Workhorse: a Unitree G1 learns whole-body skills straight from a human
With no robot data, no teleop and no retargeting, the G1 topples and climbs a suitcase, catches a thrown box, and sorts boxes with its hands and a kick, fully autonomously. It matters because data from people is far cheaper than robot data, and whole-body skills are the hardest to teleoperate.
AMI's H-JEPA plans from coarse goals down to fine actions
It learns world models at several levels of abstraction and plans top-down, raising success on Visual AntMaze from 18% to 73% while using less planning compute. It matters because robots need to plan long tasks, and planning every step at full detail is too slow.
Capital & exits
- Multiply Labs raised a $75M Series B led by NantWorks, with AstraZeneca, Lux Capital and Founders Fund. Robots that manufacture gene therapies and mRNA treatments.
- Minerva Humanoids raised a $10M pre-seed led by General Catalyst. Humanoids for hazardous jobs in energy and public safety.