The Most Aggressive Investor in the Early-stage Robotics & AI Space

The Comet — A digest of robotics & machine learning news and investments, published every other week

Amidst all the talk of slowing VC investments, down rounds, unicorns losing flight, there continues to be particularly exciting innovation in the early-stage robotics and AI space. Your friends at Comet Labs are working hard to build and support this new ecosystem, with 10 newly-announced investments closed in the last six months, hurray!

The most aggressive investor?

A month ago CB Insights published an overview of the most active investors in the robotics space space, they wrote a similar piece on VC investments in AI startups back in February. In their most recent ranking they refer to Innovation Works as “the most active VC investor in robotics, having invested in over 5 unique companies.” Comet Labs is grateful to be working alongside such visionary investors and to contribute to advances in the space with investments in 10 unique companies in the last six months.

Indeed, we’re excited to finally announce that IoT payments platform DotDashPay, commercial drone system PRENAV and robotic mobility innovator Transcend Robotics, as well as seven stealth startups, are now part of our portfolio of investments. Our community will be the first to know who these seven secretive companies are. We are currently in a position to say that they’re all working on very exciting solutions to all sorts of diverse and complex problems affecting farmers to restaurateurs, as well as engineers.

Speaking of agriculture, we’re confident that intelligent machines will help humans flourish in a world that becomes more mindful of its resources. In line with this, we hosted a small group of experts, industry leaders and startups yesterday, to discuss the ways in which intelligent machines can meet the needs of the agriculture industry. This event was hosted in partnership with Driscoll’s,Naturipe and Yamaha Motor Company.

If you are interested in agriculture, particularly in solutions for row and perma crops, do keep an eye out for our Intelligent Machines and Agriculture report to be published in early May. The report will predominantly focus on defining industry needs, prospecting intelligent machines solutions, and considering successful pilots in this space. We have consulted many experts through the course of our research efforts including our event partners, as well as individuals from Blue River, Agralogics,Orange, Agrilarity, and UC Berkeley, just to name a few.

In other news, we are delighted to announce that our Comet Labs Beijing team has launched a retail start-up solution and industry challenge. To find out more information about how to get involved as a startup or corporate partner, please email our Managing Director Saman: saman@cometlabs.io.

Other Intelligent Machines Headlines

New Fanuc Technology Connects Robots to Networks

The technology is meant to enable factory owners to easily customize their robots and systems by downloading any needed applications, much like a consumer downloads smartphone apps on iOS or Android platforms.

This Startup is Using Machine Learning to Create Animal Product Substitutes

Called the Not Company (or NotCo), the one-year-old company is rolling out its first products — NotMilk, NotMayo. NotYogurt, and NotCheese — across Chile over the next few months.

Clothes That Receive and Transmit Digital Information

Imagine shirts that act as smart-phone antennas, workout clothes that monitor fitness level, sports equipment that monitors performance, a bandage that tells your doctor how well the tissue beneath is healing, or a flexible fabric cap that senses brain signals.

How Microfactories Can Bring Iterative Manufacturing to the Masses

Local Motors has developed a community-driven platform that’s all about designing, prototyping, and manufacturing hardware, similarly to Nick Pinkston at Plethora (see the Comet Labs interview here).

Why a Chip That’s Bad at Math Can Help Computers Tackle Harder Problems

DARPA funded the development of a new computer chip that’s hardwired to make simple mistakes but can help computers understand the world.

Nokia Just Made Its First Big Move Into Digital Health

The Finnish firm is buying Withings, the maker of many connected products. Withings makes a wide range of devices, from the Activite smartwatch to home security cameras, baby monitors, connected scales, thermometers, and blood-pressure monitors.

How Drones Can Give a Boost to Biofuels

The U.S. is funding research to breed better sorghum plants using sensor-laden drones and data mining.

Inside Facebook’s Biggest Artificial Intelligence Project Ever

Are there enough humans on the planet to power the mammoth network that is Facebook? The answer is, at least not affordable. Which is why Facebook has turned to artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence: China Accelerates Bid for Global Dominance in ‘Robotics’

China continues to accelerate its bid to grab the initiative in 21st-century robotics and artificial intelligence development as the next emerging global powerhouse. Small wonder that the world’s leading manufacturing giant has already raced past the rest of the world as a major user of robots.

Intelligent Machines Funding, April 12 — April 26 2016

Onfido, intelligent background check provider, raised a $25m Series B from Idinvest, Wellington and Crunchfund (Tech City News)

Numerai, cybernetic finance solution, raised $1.5m from unknown investors (Financial Times)

Gradescope, homework assignment grading software, raised $2.6m from Freestyle, Bloomberg Beta and Reach (EdSurge)

Pathful, a small AI specialist, was acquired by Mobify, customer retention solution startup, for an unknown sum (Market Wired)

Blueshift, marketing automation startup, raised a $2m Series A from LUMA (Market Advisors)

Augmedix, that has developed a diagnostic eye-glass solution for doctors, raised $17m from Sutter Health and Dignity Health amongst other healthcare investors (TechCrunch)

Akita Box, building management simplification solution, raised a $1.1m Seed round from Roak Oak Capital and Stateline Angels (Xconomy)

BioBeats, biometric insights platform, raised $2.8m from White Cloud, AXA and IQ Capital (Business Wire)

Comet Labs Portfolio News

Polymaker Raises over $200,000 in Less than a Day

We are proud to announce that sister fund portfolio company Polymaker has already greatly surpassed it’s $100,000 goal. Polymaker has developed an entirely new 3D printing filament and desktop machine with the vision of dramatically improving the surface quality of 3D printed parts.

Drone Could Speed up HIV tests in remote areas

UNICEF has partnered with Comet Labs portfolio company Matternet to develop a program in which Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) pick up sample batches from local health centers and deliver them to specialist laboratories.

AirMap Lands $15 Million for Airspace Management

Very proud of our portfolio company AirMap being featured in the Wall Street Journal and on their $15M raise that we mentioned in our last newsletter.

Did we miss anything? Want to submit an article to be featured in our next newsletter?

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