Machenta raises $40 million to develop robot-learning technology
The London start-up says its AI can enable robots to perform physical tasks after watching a single demonstration.
London-based Machenta has disclosed a $40 million seed investment as it comes out of stealth, with Creandum and Union Square Ventures jointly leading the round. The robotics start-up said the money would fund further development of its technology and recruitment.
Machenta described the financing as the largest robotics seed round in the UK to date. Its team currently numbers around a dozen people and works from an office in London's King's Cross.
The company says it trained its artificial intelligence model using simulated, computer-generated environments rather than real-world data. Once trained, the model can guide a robot through packaging, assembly or tidying after observing the task once, according to Machenta.
The founders are Edward Johns, a professor of robot learning at Imperial College London, and Vitalis Vosylius, his PhD student. Research behind the venture began at the college six years ago, examining whether robots could learn physical skills at human speed.
