Engineered Arts restructures with $10M to create humanoid robots

engineering artA British company that makes humanoid robots has restructured as a U.S. company and raised $10 million.

The reason for moving to the United States was to expand its footprint and meet the growing demand in the United States. The company raised a new round of funding to accelerate product refinement, manufacturing readiness, scale production and investment in advanced business systems.

This milestone brings Engineered Arts’ total funding to date to $16.2 million. It advances the mission of integrating humanoid robots into daily life through a human-centered approach to artificial intelligence. Engineered Arts’ humanoid entertainment robots are designed to promote natural and intuitive interactions, enhancing the experience of businesses, science centers, theme parks and conferences through memorable, unique interactions.

Helium-3 Ventures led the Series A round, with participation from AppDirect CEO Nicolas Desmarais, Belvoir Investments, and a consortium of investors including ThirtySeven Holdings and Figueira Capital. Matthew Bellamy, the lead singer of British rock band Muse and a partner at Helium-3 Ventures, will join the Engineered Arts board of directors as an observer.

“Our motto is simple: ‘Amazing!'” Engineering Arts CEO Will Jackson said in a statement. “When you meet our robots, you experience connection with technology in the most human way possible. As the saying goes: the future is already here; you just haven’t seen it yet. We’re changing that. Get ready to experience physical artificial intelligence The power of wisdom.

Zoom robot

While many companies are just beginning to explore the development and commercialization of humanoid robots, Engineered Arts has been a pioneer in the field for more than 20 years.

The company has a proven track record, having deployed more than 200 robots globally and developed six different humanoid robot models, all ready to scale. Two years ago, videos of Ameca, its most advanced humanoid robot, went viral, attracting millions of people showing it talking to researchers.

The new funding will allow Engineered Arts to more easily access its full-scale and desktop robots, launch a virtual robot character platform, and expand its cloud-based artificial intelligence services to enhance product capabilities and fleet deployment. Engineered Arts is focused on developing next-generation robotic hardware that will enhance flexibility and locomotion, bringing humanoid robots closer to everyday functions.

In addition, scaled support and regional offices will allow Engineered Arts to provide customized services for specific use cases. The company plans to hire about 20 new employees at the Redwood City, Calif., plant over the next year and a half, including senior management, sales staff, software, assembly and support engineers.

“We envision a world where virtual worlds are seamlessly integrated into everyday life,” Jackson said in a statement. “Our robots are designed to support, entertain, inform and educate – delivering truly human-centric AI-driven technology. Vision.”

Fascinating and engaging app

Engineered Arts’ humanoid robots are already making an impact. They serve large clients such as the Sphere at Madison Square Garden in Las Vegas, where they provide entertainment and increase customer engagement.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) uses them to connect with attendees at trade events. At the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, Ameca is at the center of the “Chatbots Decoded: Exploring Artificial Intelligence” exhibit, an immersive experience that takes visitors through the history, current and future of chatbots and artificial intelligence. landscape and future possibilities.

“Ameca is a milestone in the history of artificial intelligence, bringing together decades of work in robotics, natural language processing, large-scale language models, and more,” Kirsten Tashev, CHM vice president and chief curatorial and exhibition officer, said in a statement. It provides our visitors with a highly engaging, almost exhilarating experience. With her life-like expressions, vibrant personality, sharp sense of humor, and extraordinary ability to “read the room,” Ameca continues to delight children of all ages. The audience was surprised and delighted, even the notoriously difficult to attract young visitors.”

Tashev considers the partnership with Engineered Arts to be an important contributor to the exhibition’s success.

“In the education and entertainment industries, interactive experiences must be reliable, safe, and magical. This is a difficult task, but the art of engineering masterfully accomplishes all three,” said Tashev.