Thoughts Robotics spun out of rivian to develop bodily AI primarily based on actual manufacturing information. Supply: Rivian
Thoughts Robotics Inc. this month raised $500 million in Collection A funding. The startup is constructing bodily AI methods utilizing information from current automotive manufacturing.
“Thoughts Robotics is constructing the world’s main industrial robotics platform, able to performing dexterous, variable, and reasoning-intensive duties,” it acknowledged. “The corporate was based to handle a structural hole with present industrial automation options.”
“Present industrial robotics can carry out repeatable, dimensionally secure duties, however a big share of manufacturing facility value-add work requires human-like dexterity, adaptation, and bodily reasoning that classical robotics can’t tackle,” the corporate mentioned. “Thoughts Robotics is constructing the AI basis—fashions, {hardware}, and deployment infrastructure—to shut that hole.”
Rivian helps robotics ‘information flywheel’ for common intelligence
In November 2025, Thoughts Robotics spun out of Rivian, an Irvine, Calif.-based electrical automobile maker. RJ Scaringe, founding father of each corporations, mentioned that Rivian determined to “develop merchandise and robotic options that enable us to run and function our manufacturing vegetation extra effectively.”
“Our strategic partnership with Rivian supplies production-scale information from energetic manufacturing strains,” mentioned the corporate on its web site. “This fuels our robotics information flywheel, enabling speedy iteration with a buyer able to deploy at scale. With Rivian as our companion, we’re capable of focus purely on technical execution.”
Thoughts Robotics mentioned its founders additionally embrace individuals from Bodily Intelligence, Waymo, Zoox, and Google. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based firm’s web site remains to be comparatively sparse, nevertheless it did say that it plans to construct robots that may “generalize throughout core duties” and work alongside people on the manufacturing facility ground.
Automobile makers testing humanoid robots embrace Hyundai, which is utilizing Boston Dynamics‘ Atlas; Mercedes-Benz, which has tried Apptronik‘s Apollo; BMW, which examined Determine AI‘s Determine 01 and 02; and Tesla, which makes Optimus.
Thoughts Robotics is constructing a ‘full stack’ of expertise and software program
Accel and Andreessen Horowitz led Thoughts Robotics’ Collection A spherical, which reportedly introduced its valuation to $2 billion. The corporate raised $115 million in a seed spherical led by Eclipse in November.
Thoughts Robotics mentioned it has funding from Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Sameer Gandhi, a companion at Accel, has joined the corporate’s board.
“RJ is likely one of the only a few founders who’ve constructed and scaled a vertically built-in {hardware} firm,” mentioned Sarah Wang, common companion at investor a16z. “At Rivian, he architected the total stack — automobile structure, electronics, battery methods, embedded software program, manufacturing processes, and provide chains — integrating every layer right into a cohesive system. That form of end-to-end methods management is exactly what it takes to construct a generational robotics firm and why we’re excited to again RJ and the Thoughts Robotics staff.”
Open roles at Thoughts Robotics embrace analysis and modeling, a machine studying infrastructure engineer, an information engineer, a robotics software program engineer, and a {hardware} engineer.
Rivian final 12 months spun out micro-mobility developer Additionally with $105 million in funding from Eclipse Ventures, based on TechCrunch.
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