Ex-Tesla Optimus AI lead launches industrial robot startup Intelligent Machines
Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots, has co-founded Intelligent Machines, a San Francisco startup building non-humanoid robots for tasks normally done by highly skilled workers in manufacturing and aerospace, according to The Information, citing two people with direct knowledge. The company has hired several former members of Tesla's Optimus team and is raising a seed round that could end up around $100 million. It currently focuses on robot software, using reinforcement learning to teach complex tasks, though its leaders have discussed designing hardware as well.
Why it matters: It points to continued talent spinning out of Tesla's Optimus effort into industrial robotics, a segment still attracting significant early-stage capital.
Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, has co-founded a startup developing non-humanoid robots that handle a variety of tasks that would normally be done by highly skilled workers in industries such as manufacturing and aerospace, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The San Francisco startup, Intelligent Machines, has hired several former members of Tesla’s Optimus team and is in the process of raising a seed round that could end up around $100 million, said one of the people.
Intelligent Machines is currently focused on developing software for robots, but its leaders have discussed designing the hardware as well.
The company uses reinforcement learning—a method that rewards AI for accomplishing certain goals and penalizes it for other actions—to teach robots to perform complex tasks, according to the two people. (Kumar’s doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, focused on RL.)
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