The Robotics GPT-3 Moment Is Coming
Brain Controlled Teslabot, Robotaxis, AI factories, Robot WWIII, Neuralink, Tesla Optimus, Skild AI, Helsing, Xiaomis AI factories, Trump on Bitcoin, OpenAI AGI
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∆ Tech in the News
The Fund Finance Unit - Goldman Sachs is pushing deeper into a risky bet on lending to private funds that has helped drive record revenues in fixed-income financing.
Tracking AGI Progress - OpenAI has unveiled a set of five levels to track its progress toward superintelligent AI and to help us better understand it.
EV Support - The Biden admin unveils a $1.7b plan to boost EV production at U.S. auto factories including funds for legacy automakers.
“A Media and Tech Company“ - New Paramount owner, David Ellison plans to adapt to tech shifts disrupting Hollywood like AI and streaming.
GOP AI Policy - The GOP 2024 election platform includes repeal of Biden’s AI Executive Order and support for AI ‘rooted in free speech and human flourishing’.
Crypto D.C. - 1. A senior Biden adviser met with crypto industry leaders Wednesday. | 2. Donald Trump to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in July.
The Hottest Thing in Tech this Week
The Robotics GPT-3 Moment Is Coming
Robotics just won’t stop. There are new announcements daily and the pace of adoption is astonishing. The news this week alone will blow your mind - Brain-controlled Teslabots and robotaxis, 100% automated factories, massive robotics raises, and even a Robot WWIII? While it may be scary at times, ultimately the combination of AI and robotics presents some great opportunities to radically transform our world for the better.
The Headlines
In a Neuralink presentation yesterday Elon Musk claimed Neuralink’s coming Telepathy product will allow patients to control Teslabot humanoid robots with their minds. Tesla stock surged recently after news it has two Optimus bots working autonomously in its factories and on further news of its Robotaxi plans (which are now delayed from August until October).
Pittsburgh robotics startup Skild AI just raised a substantial $300M to build a “General Purpose" Robot Brain led by Lightspeed, Coatue, SoftBank, and Jeff Bezos with input from major VCs like Sequoia and Menlo. Skild’s generalist AI model can be used in various robots and scenarios.
In Defense AI, German startup Helsing has raised a $487M Series C led by General Catalyst at ~$5.4b valuation to expand its presence in nations bordering Russia. Helsing is similar to Anduril in the US in that it creates AI software to power weapons capabilities in drones and jet fighters.
So the future of robotics in the west is shaping up with humanoid robotics, robotaxis and military uses, but is China already living in it.
China Living in the Future
Last week Beijing unlocked the use of autonomous robotaxis by online ride-hailing services nationwide. Then, news broke that there are now no humans on Xiaomi’s 100% automated production lines. The world’s 3rd largest smartphone maker’s new facility can diagnose and fix its own problems and even evolve by itself. Oh, and they are also building EVs robotically.
The World Artificial Intelligence Conference took place in China last week showcased ~25 robots including some new advanced humanoid models. A Brookings report states the Chinese military and defense industry is also making significant investments in robotics, swarming, and other AI & ML applications. It has already fielded a growing number of robotic and unmanned systems, as well as advanced missiles with precision guidance.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The military uses of robotics risk dragging us into a robotics arms race, or worse, a robotics WWIII. It may well be time to focus instead on global agreements to limit this aspect, and focus on the more positive applications of robotics that can improve everyday life for all of us.
“A GPT-3 moment is coming to the world of robotics. It will spark a monumental shift that brings advancements similar to what we’ve seen in the world of digital intelligence to the physical world.”
— Stephanie Zhan, Partner, Sequoia Capital.
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Open Deals:
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Cannabis/Hemp E-comm - New York - The first AI-Powered end-to-end online platform for the hemp industry - 2,000% growth in 2 years. (Seed+)
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Trending Tools and Buzzy Tech
Tools
Wearable Rings - 1. Oura Adviser AI health coach helps users take action| 2. Samsung Galaxy Ring begins with sleep metrics with other AI features.
Samsung Unpacked - Galaxy Watch, “AirPods’-like earbuds, new foldables.
Scale x AWS - Tools to boost enterprise and government AI adoption.
Tech
Google - 1. Self-replicating life created from digital 'primordial soup' of random data. | 2. AI-assisted 3D map of human brain tissue.
Neuralink - To offer Telepathy and then Brain Control of Teslabots.
OpenAI x Los Alamos National Lab - Studying value of AI in science labs.
Closed Deals:
“General Purpose" Robot Brain - Pittsburgh robotics startup Skild AI raised $300M at $1.5b led by Lightspeed, Coatue, SoftBank, & Jeff Bezos, backed by Sequoia, Menlo, General Catalyst, CRV, Amazon, & SV Angel.
Acquires Model Developer - AMD is acquiring Finnish AI model dev startup Silo AI for $665M to boost its AI chip capabilities to take on Nvidia.
Thrive AI Health - Arianna Huffington and Sam Altman’s OpenAI Startup Fund, backed this startup building "AI health coach" assistant tech with an undisclosed seed amount. Partners include Stanford Medicine.
Deals to Watch:
Groq - The AI Chip startup expects to finalize a $300M raise led by BlackRock in the next two weeks, at ~$2.2b pre-money, over 2x its $1.1b valuation in 2021. The deal pends a BlackRock financial audit.
Anduril - California defense AI/tech startup with multiple new defense contracts in FYE 2024. $500k revenue at 150% growth rate in 2023, strong projections. Raising $1.5B Series F at $12.5B pre-money led by Thiel’s Founders Fund and Sands Capital.
Funding Buzz Watch:
Pershing Square USA - Bill Ackman is raising a $20b closed-end US fund offering lower fees, and quicker capital access than traditional hedge funds.
Flagship Pioneering - The MA. bioplatform innovation company raised $3.6b to fund breakthrough companies in health, sustainability, & AI. It has strategic partnerships with Pfizer, Samsung, and Novo Nordisk.
Andreessen Horowitz - The firm’s Oxygen Initiative will accumulate 20,000+ GPUs, including Nvidia H100s, to rent them to portfolio companies to increase AI startup deal flow.
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