Panel on the 2025 Humanoids Summit that includes (l to r) James Wells, Sanctuary AI CEO; Modar Alaoui, ALM Ventures basic companion and Humanoids Summit founder and chair; and Rafe Rosner-Uddin, Monetary Instances San Francisco correspondent. Credit score: The Robotic Report
The Bay Space Robotics Affiliation, or BARA, has formally launched as a member-driven business platform connecting corporates, roboticists, buyers, and startups. The group mentioned its imaginative and prescient is to assist form robotics and embodied AI in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and past.
BARA was unveiled final week on the Humanoids Summit Silicon Valley, an business occasion that convened thought leaders from humanoid robotics, embodied AI, and bodily AI.
“BARA was shaped in response to business demand for a member-based, capital-focused group within the higher San Francisco Bay Space—one which connects innovation with the funding and commercialization companions wanted to scale,” mentioned Modar Alaoui, chairman of BARA, and founder and basic companion of ALM Ventures.
“By bringing collectively leaders throughout humanoid, industrial, service, and mobility robotics, we purpose to speed up the pilots and partnerships that transfer AI into bodily kind,” he mentioned. “The Bay Space leads in embodied AI, and our objective is to translate that management into actual funding and deployment momentum.”
BARA works with U.S., international companions
Reflecting the rising worldwide alignment round real-world deployment and commercialization in robotics, BARA launches with MassRobotics as its main U.S. collaborator, the AI Robotic Affiliation (AIRoA) as its main Japanese collaborator, and Shanghai SG Robotics (Robotic China Community) as its main Chinese language collaborator.
“Partnering with BARA permits us to attach two of essentially the most influential robotics hubs on the planet,” mentioned Joyce Sidopoulos, co-founder and chief of operations at MassRobotics. “The East Coast’s depth in analysis and manufacturing, and the West Coast’s management in AI and commercialization create a strong basis for startups to develop by shared partnerships and capital pathways.“
Prof. Tetsuya Ogata, chairman of AIRoA, added: “We’re trying ahead to working intently with BARA to construct new bridges between Japan’s robotics and AI ecosystem and the colourful Bay Space robotics communities.”
“We consider collaboration with BARA will assist drive international progress in robotics and develop the alternatives for business alternate between China and Silicon Valley,” mentioned Marco Zhao, president of Shanghai SG Robotics.
BARA’s initiative can be strengthened by the broader nationwide requirements ecosystem within the U.S., together with ongoing work on the Nationwide Institute of Requirements and Expertise (NIST) that helps interoperability, measurement science, and deployment readiness throughout robotics sectors.
Firms welcome to hitch as members
The brand new group is just for corporations and never for particular person members. Based on the BARA web site, “Membership is restricted to certified organizations advancing humanoid, industrial, service, and mobility robotics, and the companions who spend money on or purchase from them.”
BARA can be planning to supply market intelligence to its members, together with curated insights on market shifts, requirements exercise, and rising robotics clusters to assist members keep forward.
In 2026, BARA will host members-only capital and business networking classes for certified corporates, buyers, and startups, with its first session deliberate for late February. Members will even obtain concise ecosystem updates and entry to a personal listing designed to streamline focused introductions and collaboration.
