German start-up NEURA Robotics may be closer than ever to bringing humanoid robots into our homes. Preparing to debut their highly anticipated model, they’re seeking to secure up to $1.2 billion in funding.
Though the list of potential new investors remains under wraps, NEURA Robotics has already secured €120 million in investment and $1 billion in orders from high-profile clients such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Omron Corp.
The latest funding objectives on behalf of the company might shift depending on how the situation progresses, but what was a dream (or fear for some) of the future is a reality quickly approaching our doorstep: a cognitive robot that can make sandwiches and iron clothes.
NEURA robotics is set to introduce its humanoid product and new software applications at an event in Munich next week,
Bloomberg
reports.
The world’s first cognitive robot might just be German
Founded in 2019, NEURA Robotics, based in Metzingen, has positioned itself as a leader in the growing market of cognitive and humanoid robotics as the “only humanoid robotics company” in Germany, according to
EU-Startups.
Last year, NEURA released a video of its
six-foot-tall humanoid performing household chores such as pouring a cocktail and doing the laundry. David Reger, founder and CEO of NEURA Robotics, told
EE News Europe
that he believed cognitive robots would become bigger than smartphones or at least
just as ubiquitous.
MSN
continued
that the company has produced a transport robot for factories and a machine with robotic arms for domestic use. They’re seeking to integrate robotics into the human workforce
in manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare.
And they are not alone. Other start-ups such as Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Nvidia Corp. are currently in talks to deploy robots at a Houston facility to help it produce AI servers.
As an anonymous executive told
Bloomberg
,
“50 to 60 companies are developing human robots” in China alone. In the US and Europe, companies are movingly swiftly to produce a cognitive robot, such as Tesla Inc. and 1X Technologies AS, a Norwegian start-up backed by OpenAI, and Figure AI Inc., a California firm that, reportedly, was fundraising earlier this year at a $39.5 billion valuation.
A humanoid packed with AI technology
The NEURA AI API powering their
cognitive technology
integrates multi-modal interaction, from voice to gesture, an integrated and complete AI cycle, and full cognition from object detection to tracking.
EE News Europe
continued that Ai Hub is another key feature. It provides decentralized swarm intelligence for the cognitive robots, inspired by the behavior of social insects such as ants and bees. It would allow a group of interconnected agents, which includes algorithms, to solve complex problems without centralized control. Other features include scanning an object 360°, labeling real data based on generated 3D models, and training deep learning models.
Next week, the company will introduce its
humanoid robot
at an event in Munich, which might assist their funding efforts for their official launch. Nevertheless, NEURA might become one of the market leaders in the emerging industry of
cognitive robotics
.
According to
EU-Startups
,
last year alone, NEURA doubled its number of employees and
experienced 10x revenue growth. With impressive growth
to boast about,
EE News Europe
stated that
NEURA is the “first to ship a commercially viable cognitive robot.
“