The startup's technology is designed to work with any robot, eliminating the need for costly sensors and hardware. This could drastically reduce costs and implementation time for autonomous navigation, particularly for lighter robots priced under $50,000. Tera AI's solution is being tested with key players in the U.S. robotics industry, and the new funding will help deploy the initial product on embedded devices and expand the technical team. Zhang envisions a future where software becomes the most valuable asset of robotic platforms, allowing for easy updates and new capabilities, similar to an app store model.
Key takeaways:
- Tera AI is developing a spatial reasoning AI system for affordable visual navigation in autonomous robots, using a platform-agnostic, pure-software approach.
- The startup's technology aims to overcome hardware constraints, enabling robots to navigate and interact with three-dimensional space without expensive sensors.
- Tera AI's software can be applied to any robot with a pre-existing camera and GPU, offering general-purpose navigation without the need for re-tuning.
- The company has secured $7.8 million in seed funding to deploy its solution on embedded devices and expand its technical team.