Kyle Vogt, former CEO of autonomous vehicle firm Cruise, has successfully raised $150 million for his new robotics venture, The Bot Company. The funding round, led by Greenoaks, values the company—launched less than a year ago—at an impressive $2 billion, according to the sources.
This latest investment follows an earlier $150 million raised from investors such as Spark Capital and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, which previously placed the company’s valuation at $550 million. The Bot Company is working on developing both hardware and AI-driven software to power its robots.
Despite not yet launching a product or generating revenue, the company has drawn significant investor interest, fueled by the increasing role of AI in robotics. The integration of large language models (LLMs) into robotics has sparked a surge in funding for startups in this space. LLMs enable robots to understand natural language commands and perform complex tasks, making them more intuitive for household and industrial applications.
Vogt co-founded The Bot Company alongside Paril Jain and Luke Holoubek, both of whom have experience at Tesla and Cruise. Their focus is on creating at-home robots designed to assist with everyday tasks, including household chores. While details remain scarce, sources suggest that the robots will have a non-humanoid design featuring a mobile base and grips.
Both The Bot Company and Greenoaks declined to comment on the investment.
The robotics sector has seen increasing activity, with humanoid robot startups such as Tesla’s Optimus and Figure—currently seeking funding at a $40 billion valuation—gaining attention. Non-humanoid robotics firms, including Cobot, founded by Amazon veteran Brad Porter, have also attracted substantial investment, with Cobot securing $146 million for industrial automation solutions.
Tech giants like Amazon have long shown interest in home robotics, with its Astro robot launching in 2021. Amazon recently discontinued its Astro for Business model to focus solely on household applications. Other startups, such as Physical Intelligence and 1x, have raised significant funding to develop robots capable of tasks like folding laundry and cleaning.
Vogt and his team represent a wave of entrepreneurs shifting from self-driving technology to robotics, aiming to develop AI-driven models that go beyond traditional imitation learning. Inspired by LLM advancements, these systems seek to enhance robots’ ability to learn movements dynamically rather than relying on pre-programmed routines.
The growing investment in robotics reflects the industry’s potential, with venture capital firms investing $6.1 billion in the sector last year, marking a 19% increase from 2023, according to PitchBook.
Greenoaks, which has also backed industrial robotics startup Mytra, has a track record of supporting high-growth companies. The firm has previously invested in billion-dollar startups like Sierra and Safe Superintelligence Inc., and it recently saw a major return on investment from Wiz’s $32 billion acquisition by Google.
