The Hunt For Robot Unicorns

From IEEE Spectrum, Sept. 24:

The robotics manufacture is quickly evolving too expanding—who volition live on the side past times side robot unicorns?

By Benjamin Joffe

 

Photo: Avidbots HAX, a venture-capital theater too hardware accelerator, has invested inward over 2 dozen robotics companies, including Avidbots, a Canadian startup that builds autonomous floor-cleaning robots similar the i higher upward at Changi Airport inward Singapore.

This is a invitee post. The views expressed hither are only those of the writer too exercise non stand upward for positions of IEEE Spectrum or the IEEE.

Earlier this calendar month I was inward Kingdom of Denmark speaking at the R-18 robotics fair. Kingdom of Denmark is quite remarkable as, despite its size, it had two exits of robotics startups over US $100 million: Universal Robots too MiR, both acquired past times U.S. electronics testing equipment maker Teradyne (currently valued around $7 billion).

The verbalize I gave covered our observations at HAX over the past times v years from investing inward over 2 dozen robotics startups and coming together hundreds.
I started alongside a petty robot-focused quiz. Let’s consider how you lot fare!

Robot Quiz
1. Which is the #1 habitation robotics companionship inward the world?
2. Which famous robot pet but got dorsum on market?
3. Which robotics companies were acquired past times SoftBank?
4. What are the world’s robot unicorns? (Private companies valued over US $1 billion.)
5. Finally, every bit investors, the to a greater extent than of import interrogation for us is: Who are the next robot unicorns?
Easy? Let’s see!

1. Yes, it is iRobot, the maker of Roomba.
Many got it right. Interestingly, the reply was unlike a few months ago, when China’s Ecovacs (the local “iRobot”) went public. Today, both accept a marketplace pose cap around $2.5 billion.

Image: Ecovacs Ecovacs sells robots for cleaning floors too windows.

2. Of class it is Sony’s Aibo.
The previous versions, sold from 1999 too for 7 years, sold 150,000 units. The novel i sold nigh 10,000 units inward 3 months, for nigh $3,000 each. It’s non a modest number, but the toll too utility rest inward question.
3. The most famous is Boston Dynamics, which SoftBank bought from Google.

Photo: SoftBank Robotics Pepper, a humanoid robot created past times Aldebaran, a French robotics theater acquired past times SoftBank.

One audience fellow member remembered Aldebaran, the French companionship that gave us Pepper. While it is nonetheless the most sophisticated tablet holder inward the PR world, Pepper is an indication that nosotros are far from achieving the (antiquated?) vision of humanoid robots living alongside us. It is too telling that Boston Dynamics seems to nonetheless live on struggling to detect a market.
4. Robot unicorns? There are a few. Here are some examples (we are non counting electrical cars or infinite rockets here):

Images: Segway; UBTech; DJI; Desktop Metal Which 3 of these iv robot unicorns are Chinese?

• Chinese startups accept multiplied. These include Ninebot (Chinese owners of Segway and worth $1.5 billion), the drone champion DJI (worth an alleged $15 billion), too the petty known UBTech, which makes STEM robots (estimated at $5 billion).
• Adding digital fabrication machines, in that location is Carbon 3D too Desktop Metal from the United States.
• Public companies don’t count, but it’s nonetheless worth mentioning Japan’s Cyberdyne (an exoskeleton companionship worth $1.5 billion) too Germany’s Kuka (acquired past times China’s appliances maker Midea for $4 billion).

5. Who the next unicorns are is harder to answer. See below for more.

Looking for the Next Robot Unicorns..

...MUCH MORE

Regarding the moving-picture demo at the operate past times of the page, that's no unicorn.
This is a unicorn:

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