From TechCrunch
RIOS comes out of stealth to announce $5M in funding for ‘industry-agnostic’ robotics
By Brian Heater
Bay Area-based robotics startup RIOS is coming out of stealth today to announce $5 million in funding. The round is being led by Valley Capital Partners and Morpheus Ventures, with participation from a long list of investors, including Grit Ventures, Motus Ventures, MicroVentures, Alumni Ventures Group, Fuji Corporation and NGK Spark Plug Co.
RIOS was founded in 2018 [co-founded by MIDS alumnus Matt Shaffer], as a spin-out of Stanford University, with help from a number of Xerox PARC engineers. The startup has operated in stealth for the past year and a half while testing its technologies with a select group of partners.
The company’s first product is DX-1, a robot designed for a variety of industrial tasks, including static bin picking and conveyor belt operations. The system is powered by the company’s AI stack, including a perception system and a variety of tactile sensors mounted on the robotic hand.
Matt Shaffer is the Director of Artificial Intelligence and Co-founder at RIOS, he graduated from the MIDS program in 2018.
