Robots are not apps. You cannot A/B test your way to a machine that changes an industry. You have to ship, stand next to customers while it works, and take responsibility for the outcome.

We have deployed 500 robots into real businesses. It took five years to go from 0 to 100. We went from 400 to 500 in four months.

We are sharing a non-exhaustive list of what we learned in hopes that it helps others think clearly about robotics. It is an important and still nascent industry, and our vantage point is unique because we build, deploy, service, and scale robots in the field every day, from Charlotte, NC.

Our three fundamental beliefs about the future

1. Robots are the future of dull, dirty, dangerous, and demeaning jobs. Robots increase human dignity by removing work that ruins bodies and shortens careers.
2. Robots must be built in the United States. A domestic supply chain is essential for economic resilience and national security.
3. Robots plus automation unlock human abundance. Everything that moves will be automated over time.

1) Master one job, design for expansion

Reputation is currency in the trades. You earn it by mastering one task first and becoming the reliable tool crews ask for. That first win proves you can deliver a robot people trust and businesses rely on.

Think LEGO, not Swiss Army knife. A Swiss Army knife can technically do many things, but none as well as a purpose-built tool and it rarely holds up in industrial or professional use. Build a common brain and stable base with standardized connection points, then add specialized payloads only when the job requires them. Architect for expansion while you execute, so new capabilities click into the same system without a ground-up rebuild.

This is the NVIDIA arc: start with a concrete performance problem in graphics, build a repeatable architecture, then extend the same core into new workloads and markets. Robotics should follow the same pattern: master one job, keep the base constant, and add specialized payloads and software as new bricks.

Generalist robots that are mediocre at everything always lose to robots that are great at the task at hand in real commercial and industrial settings. I don’t care what the headlines say. Adoption in B2B robotics always comes down to ROI.

Marketing doesn’t win. Proof and clear ROI in the field wins at scale.

2) Focus on transformative ROI

Marketing gets you a meeting. Proven outcomes get you adoption. In serious commercial settings, pilots are auditions, not victories.

Our bar

• Up to 5x faster. A radical shift in how the work is done, not an incremental improvement. Customers need a compelling reason to switch from the status quo.
• We emphasize growth and efficiency over simple labor reduction: throughput per crew, revenue per day, job cycle time, consistency, and rework avoided.
• Proof comes from production jobs, not demos.

Sidebar: Why B2B adoption beats B2C

Household robotics has allure, but adoption lags even for products that work and are affordable. Quick show of hands: what percent of your neighbors run robot lawn mowers? They have been around for years, often cost under $1,000, and still see low penetration. In B2B, the buyer has an active P&L and adopts when the job gets done faster, safer, and more profitably. That is where the next wave of robotic adoption will compound.

3) Own the customer relationship

Integrate hardware, software, training, service, and parts so you own the outcome. That earns trust and creates a distribution moat through workflow integration, training, and the internal playbooks your customers build around your platform.

Owning the outcome also makes you faster. If you do not own repairs or training, every product update creates drag and cost. Control the loop, iterate quickly, and keep customers happy through change.

4) Control the full stack: software is not enough

Early advice we heard: focus on software and let someone else handle hardware. That is the quickest way to be three layers removed from your user and to lose control of reliability and iteration.

Hard take: If you want to sell to customers who use the product every day, outsourcing the physical stack is the dumbest thing you can do. You will be slow to fix issues, slow to improve, and you will not own the future of your product.

Why full stack control wins

• Reliability and safety. You control tolerances, power, thermals, EMI, sensing, and failure modes. That is where uptime is won.
• Iteration speed. Hardware, firmware, and software evolve together. You ship coordinated updates instead of waiting on vendor roadmaps.
• Serviceability and telemetry. Consistent interfaces and LTE connected diagnostics make field support fast and predictable.
• Independence. You are not gated by third party repair loops or parts bans. You can fix defects and improve the product on your schedule.

Owning the stack is not about perfection. It is about earning the right to improve fast in the real world.

5) Reliability and customer success are non-negotiable

You win only when your customer wins. Customer wins and reliability are your marketing. Measure it and organize the company around improving it.

How we measure progress

• Our north star is Robot Operating Minutes (ROM). More minutes doing productive work means customers are winning.
• We track the ratio of operating hours to customer issues and work to improve it continually.

Most customers do not expect perfection with frontier tech. They expect visible progress, quick action, and clear communication when something goes wrong.

6) Robots are learning and data platforms

A production robot should both do work and produce a stream of high quality operational data. This data improves autonomy, reduces downtime, informs preventive maintenance, and opens software revenue. Tesla is a useful parallel: large scale deployments created the driving data that now powers Full Self Driving. The same logic applies in industrial robotics.

The goal is not to simply sell data. Use it to deliver better outcomes and, where appropriate, monetize the insight stream.

7) Supply chain is strategy

You cannot service customers if you cannot build and repair machines. Component choices, vendor depth, domestic availability, and test coverage matter. Invest early in:

• Second sources for critical parts
• Clear QA and QC at incoming, in process, and final assembly
• Bills of materials that are stable and serviceable in the field
• Spare parts logistics that match your installed base

A great supply chain turns reliability into a habit, not an act of heroism.

8) Build in the USA: resilience, security, velocity

Building domestically is not about symbolism. It is a performance choice.

• Economic resilience. Domestic sourcing shortens lead times, reduces single points of failure, and avoids customs and port delays that stall revenue.
• National security. Critical infrastructure depends on trustworthy supply chains. A U.S. based stack reduces exposure to geopolitical shocks and policy whiplash.
• Data privacy and control. When hardware, firmware, and fleet data are under domestic control, compliance is simpler and customer risk is lower.

Service speed is the most visible difference. Before we built our own systems, we relied on international technology. Repairs routinely took months. With DJI, our average turnaround was about 4.5 months, and some units never returned. International shipping and queue times erased revenue opportunities. When a robot is a P&L asset, a quarter without it is unacceptable. Domestic design, parts, and repair centers mean fixes in days, not months.

This shift is happening across categories. For products that matter to operations, domestic build is becoming the default expectation.

9) Operations are as hard as the tech

Standing up a facility, production line, vendor management, technician training, and repair flows is real work. Scalable hardware powered by software and electronics is even harder. The best way to deliver a scalable robot is to focus relentlessly on quality. Treat service as a product. Design for maintainability: fast access to wear parts, diagnostic telemetry, and procedures that a field tech can run in minutes. Connectivity is critical. If you send robots into the wild without LTE, your ability to troubleshoot and support customers will struggle. Ubiquitous connectivity is how you manage a growing fleet.

Robots are like cars. Even with a century of learning, cars still need tires, oil, and brake pads regularly changed. Your robots will need planned maintenance and unplanned repairs. Design the machine and the org for that reality.

10) Training beats turnover

Many industrial customers have high crew turnover. If your training assumes a stable team, the deployment will stall. Make training easy, accessible, and scalable so a new operator can become productive quickly and safely.

11) Field time compounds

One hour on a job site is worth ten in the office. You will learn more standing with a customer than you will in any simulator. Ship, observe, fix, and repeat. The feedback loop is where moats form.

We require every employee to attend at least one job site per year, regardless of role. If you are in engineering, customer success, sales, and adjacent teams, it is many more. Field time sharpens judgment and keeps the whole company grounded in customer outcomes.

12) Move fast to learn, not just to move

Speed without learning is noise. Move fast when you can extract a new truth from the field. Slow down when changes stop teaching you.

A simple guardrail: every change ships with a hypothesis and a metric. If you cannot write both in a sentence, you are guessing.

13) Solve for problems, not features

Customers change behavior when you change their economics. Focus on big, frequent, painful work and aim for step changes, not marginal gains. Always anchor on the customer problem. Robots that do not solve real world problems are useless. Features that impress in demos but fail on job sites do not matter. Keep asking: does this change an outcome the P&L can feel?

14) Be inevitable, not just innovative

Pick markets where adoption is a matter of when, not if: labor shortages, safety exposure, and chronic inefficiency. Show up with a working product, a clear ROI, and a plan to support it for years. That is what leadership looks like.

15) Build the team you can trust, then listen to them

Robotics is a team sport. Hire people who take ownership, who will meet you at midnight at a customer site, and who tell you the truth

The next decade will be decided by deployed minutes, not demos or press cycles. Our north star is Robot Operating Minutes because minutes compound into learning, reliability, and customer trust. That is how Tesla turned fleet miles into Full Self Driving and how NVIDIA turned a graphics engine into a compute platform. Robotics follows the same pattern: specialize, deploy, learn, expand.

We build in the United States because resilience matters. We focus on B2B because outcomes are measurable. We design like LEGO so new payloads click into a proven base. We own the outcome so iteration is fast and support is real.

If you are building, chase customer outcomes over features. If you are buying, demand radical performance, not incrementalism. If you are investing, back teams that ship, service, and learn in the field.

Robots are the arms and legs of AI. Done right, they raise productivity, improve safety, and increase human prosperity. We are just getting started. See you at 1,000.

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TL;DR

Figure hits a $39B valuation as investors double down on humanoid robots built for real-world jobs. Galway-based Forge Robotics joins Y Combinator, plugging Ireland’s robotics scene into Silicon Valley’s accelerator network. And Uber Eats is partnering with Flytrex to bring FAA-approved drone deliveries directly into its app—pushing autonomous last-mile logistics closer to the mainstream.

Robotics startup Figure valued at $39 billion in latest funding round

Figure, a California-based company focused on humanoid robotics, has successfully raised fresh funding, which establishes its valuation at $39 billion. This substantial valuation underscores surging investor confidence regarding the commercial potential of general-purpose robots. The startup is actively developing humanoid robots specifically engineered to handle a variety of industrial and service assignments, including essential tasks in manufacturing support and warehouse environments. The newly acquired capital is designated for expanding production capacity, growing the engineering team, and expediting broader commercialization efforts. Financial backers have indicated that Figure is favorably positioned to capitalize on recent advancements in specialized hardware and artificial intelligence, developments that are rendering sophisticated humanoid robots increasingly practical and highly capable.

Major Takeaway: With a multibillion-dollar valuation, Figure is rapidly emerging as a frontrunner in the competitive humanoid robotics race, effectively demonstrating how investors are strategically betting on robots that possess the flexibility to handle diverse real-world functions. Read More

Forge Robotics joins Y Combinator to scale robotic automation from Galway

The Irish startup Forge Robotics, based in Galway, has secured acceptance into Y Combinator, providing the company with a powerful platform to accelerate its growth and global presence. This acceptance integrates Ireland’s burgeoning robotics sector directly into Silicon Valley’s influential accelerator network. Forge Robotics focuses on manufacturing robotic automation systems for manufacturing and logistics sectors. Their core product strategy revolves around developing modular, flexible platforms designed to adapt seamlessly across different industries. Participation in the program is intended to help the company refine its product offering, attract new talent, and foster connections with international investors. Its inclusion highlights the increasing trend of Europe’s robotics ecosystem becoming integrated within the global startup pipeline centered in Silicon Valley.

Major Takeaway: Forge Robotics’ entry into Y Combinator signals the growing globalization of robotics innovation, illustrating how startups situated outside major technological centers can effectively connect with crucial global networks and capital. Read More

Uber Eats to expand drone deliveries through Flytrex partnership

Uber Eats is partnering with drone startup Flytrex to broaden the scope of food delivery conducted by air, commencing deployment in specific metropolitan areas across the United States. Flytrex contributes the essential flight systems and hardware, having recently obtained necessary FAA approval for nationwide Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) operations. Uber Eats will integrate this aerial service directly into its consumer application. The initiative is designed to achieve multiple benefits: reducing delivery times, mitigating traffic congestion, and providing customers with swift, contactless service. If successful, this strategic partnership holds the potential to transition drone-based last-mile logistics into a widely accepted, mainstream commercial practice.

Major Takeaway: By establishing this partnership with Flytrex, Uber Eats is making a significant investment in drones to transform the food delivery landscape, introducing enhanced autonomy, scale, and speed to essential last-mile logistics operations. Read More

About Lucid Bots

Founded in 2018, Lucid Bots is an AI robotics company that is committed to uplifting humanity by building the world's most productive and responsible robots that can do dangerous and demanding tasks.

Headquartered in Charlotte, the company engineers, manufactures, and supports its products domestically, which include the Sherpa, a cleaning drone, and the Lavo Bot, a pressure-washing robot.

Lucid Bots' products are elevating safety and efficiency for a growing number of customers around the world. Lucid is a Y Combinator-backed company, with investments from Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others. Lucid Bots was recently recognized as the fastest growing robotics manufacturer in the United States.

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TL;DR

Autonomy is scaling fast as Kodiak rolls out its first factory-built self-driving truck, Nvidia and OpenAI back a multibillion-dollar UK AI infrastructure push, and HARR-E brings on-demand robotics to urban trash collection.

Nvidia and OpenAI to back major investment in UK AI infrastructure

Nvidia and OpenAI are joining forces to support a multibillion-dollar investment in the UK’s AI infrastructure, aiming to strengthen the country’s position as a global leader in artificial intelligence. The funding will go toward building advanced data centers, expanding access to cutting-edge GPUs, and supporting research in AI and robotics. UK officials say the investment will accelerate innovation across industries, from healthcare to autonomous systems, while reducing dependence on foreign compute resources. The move highlights the growing geopolitical significance of AI infrastructure in shaping economic competitiveness.

Major Takeaway: With Nvidia and OpenAI backing, the UK is set to rapidly expand its AI capabilities—building the compute backbone needed for future breakthroughs in robotics and beyond. Read More

Kodiak Robotics delivers its first factory-made autonomous truck

Kodiak Robotics has rolled out its first factory-produced autonomous truck, marking a milestone in the commercialization of self-driving freight. Built in partnership with a major OEM, the truck integrates Kodiak’s autonomous driving system directly on the factory floor rather than as a retrofit. This streamlines production, improves reliability, and signals readiness for large-scale deployment. The company says the trucks will be used in long-haul freight operations, targeting cost savings and efficiency for logistics providers while addressing driver shortages.

Major Takeaway: By moving from retrofits to factory production, Kodiak is signaling that autonomous trucking is shifting from experimental pilots to scalable, real-world deployment. Read More

New HARR-E robot lets you summon trash pickup like Uber for your garbage

A new service featuring the HARR-E robot is bringing on-demand waste collection to neighborhoods, letting residents summon trash pickup through an app much like calling an Uber. The autonomous, wheeled robot navigates streets to collect garbage and transport it to designated processing points. Designed to reduce missed collections and improve urban cleanliness, HARR-E also integrates with smart city infrastructure for efficient routing and scheduling. Developers see the system as a scalable way to modernize waste management and cut reliance on traditional collection trucks.

Major Takeaway: By turning trash collection into an on-demand robotic service, HARR-E shows how everyday city infrastructure is getting smarter, cleaner, and more autonomous. Read More

About Lucid Bots

Founded in 2018, Lucid Bots is an AI robotics company that is committed to uplifting humanity by building the world's most productive and responsible robots that can do dangerous and demanding tasks.

Headquartered in Charlotte, the company engineers, manufactures, and supports its products domestically, which include the Sherpa, a cleaning drone, and the Lavo Bot, a pressure-washing robot.

Lucid Bots' products are elevating safety and efficiency for a growing number of customers around the world. Lucid is a Y Combinator-backed company, with investments from Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others. Lucid Bots was recently recognized as the fastest growing robotics manufacturer in the United States.

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TL;DR

This week’s robotics rundown covers the U.S. Air Force adopting autonomous aircraft, NVIDIA powering the next AI and robotics wave, Finland investing in demining robots, and ex-Amazon execs raising $20M to automate housing construction.

United States Air Force Signs Purchase Agreement with Reliable Robotics

The U.S. Air Force has signed a purchase agreement with Reliable Robotics, a company specializing in autonomous flight systems, to accelerate the adoption of remotely piloted and fully automated aircrafts. Reliable’s technology focuses on certifiable autonomy, allowing planes to operate with reduced or no onboard crew while maintaining high safety standards. The deal is part of the Air Force’s broader push to modernize logistics, surveillance, and cargo transport with cost-effective, flexible autonomy solutions. This agreement also signals growing military confidence in private-sector innovations to strengthen national defense capabilities.

Major Takeaway: By partnering with Reliable Robotics, the Air Force is moving closer to deploying fully autonomous aircraft—reshaping military logistics and highlighting the Pentagon’s commitment to next-gen aviation technology. Read More

Amazon, Meta Among Early Adopters of NVIDIA Blackwell Platform for Generative AI and Robotics

Amazon, Meta, and other major tech firms are among the first adopters of NVIDIA’s new Blackwell platform, designed to supercharge generative AI and robotics workloads. The platform combines advanced GPUs, optimized software, and scalable infrastructure, making it easier to train and deploy large AI models as well as physically capable robots. Early users are expected to leverage Blackwell for applications ranging from warehouse automation to immersive AI-driven virtual environments. By partnering with industry leaders, NVIDIA is aiming to set the new standard for high-performance computing in robotics and AI.

Major Takeaway: With Blackwell, NVIDIA is positioning itself at the core of the next AI and robotics boom—providing the compute backbone that will drive both digital intelligence and real-world automation. Read More

Finland seeks demining robots amid exploding focus on combat robotics

Finland is stepping up its investment in military robotics with plans to acquire demining robots capable of clearing explosives from conflict zones. The initiative comes as part of a broader European trend toward integrating robotic systems into defense operations, including logistics, surveillance, and frontline support. Demining robots are seen as especially critical for protecting soldiers while speeding up recovery in war-torn areas. The move underscores how militaries are looking to robotics not just for combat roles but also for lifesaving tasks in hazardous environments.

Major Takeaway: Finland’s push for demining robots highlights how defense robotics is expanding beyond combat—focusing on safety, efficiency, and protecting human lives in high-risk zones. Read More

These former Amazon Robotics executives just landed $20 million to tackle the housing crisis

A team of former Amazon Robotics executives has raised $20 million in funding to launch a new company aimed at addressing the housing crisis with advanced robotics. The startup plans to build robotic systems that automate key parts of housing construction, from prefabrication to on-site assembly, with the goal of lowering costs and speeding up building timelines. By leveraging their experience scaling robotics in warehouses, the founders believe they can bring similar efficiency and automation to construction. The funding round reflects growing investor interest in applying robotics to solve major societal challenges like affordable housing.

Major Takeaway: By bringing warehouse automation expertise into construction, these former Amazon leaders aim to speed up housing production and lower costs—potentially reshaping how homes are built. Read More

About Lucid Bots

Founded in 2018, Lucid Bots is an AI robotics company that is committed to uplifting humanity by building the world's most productive and responsible robots that can do dangerous and demanding tasks.

Headquartered in Charlotte, the company engineers, manufactures, and supports its products domestically, which include the Sherpa, a cleaning drone, and the Lavo Bot, a pressure-washing robot.

Lucid Bots' products are elevating safety and efficiency for a growing number of customers around the world. Lucid is a Y Combinator-backed company, with investments from Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others. Lucid Bots was recently recognized as the fastest growing robotics manufacturer in the United States.

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NVIDIA just announced a milestone that signals more than progress — it signals a shift in history. Over 2 million robotics developers are now building on its platforms, from Isaac Sim for simulation to Jetson for edge AI computing. This isn’t just a developer count; it’s the early scaffolding of the next industrial revolution.

The first industrial revolution mechanized human labor. The second scaled it with electricity and assembly lines. The third digitized it with computing and the internet. Now, the fourth industrial revolution is physical again — driven by embodied AI and robotics that can perceive, decide, and act in the real world.

At Lucid Bots, we are building for this moment. Our focus is on developing robotic systems that take on dangerous, dirty, and time-intensive jobs and preserve human value. We’re pushing forward technologies that protect people while scaling efficiency — transforming how work gets done in the built world.

NVIDIA as the Backbone of the Revolution

For Lucid Bots, NVIDIA’s ecosystem is more than validation — it’s infrastructure.

• Isaac Sim provides photorealistic simulation environments where we maintain digital twins of our Lavo Bot robots and Sherpa Drones. We run software-in-the-loop (SITL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) regression tests with stereo, RGB-D, LiDAR, and IMU sensor models. This tightens the sim-to-real loop and reduces risky, expensive field iterations.
  
  
• Isaac ROS GEMs are core to our autonomy stack. With Visual SLAM, our drones and ground robots gain a strong sense of position in real time even when GPS is weak or unavailable. For recurring missions, Map Localization enables a robot to recognize a site and align to a saved map within seconds. Together, these capabilities shorten deployment times, reduce operator workload, and ensure consistent, repeatable performance in tasks like high-precision surface cleaning, data capture, and inspection.
  
  
• Jetson edge compute powers real-time autonomy, enabling perception, obstacle avoidance, and sensor fusion directly onboard our robots.
  
  

Combined with a global community of 2M+ developers, this infrastructure accelerates R&D, de-risks deployment, and ensures Lucid Bots can move faster than the market.

The Market in Transition

We believe this revolution is already underway. Just as factories a century ago transformed productivity with machines, industries today will transform safety and efficiency with intelligent robots.

• Property and facilities management is a $1T+ global market, facing rising costs, labor shortages, and regulatory pressure.
• Legacy approaches — scaffolding, diesel light towers, and manual cleaning — are relics of the last era.
• Robotics doesn’t just replace these methods; it leapfrogs them, delivering safer, cleaner, and more cost-effective outcomes at scale.

Why Lucid Bots, Why Now

The industrial revolutions of the past favored companies that seized the moment when the right infrastructure converged with unmet demand. That’s exactly where we are today. NVIDIA’s milestone proves the infrastructure is here. The demand for safer, more efficient operations is only accelerating.

Lucid Bots is positioned at this intersection. Our systems are not science projects — they are field-tested, revenue-generating platforms, designed for immediate deployment at scale.

For investors and pioneers, the story is clear: the fourth industrial revolution is no longer on the horizon. We’re building it — and delivering it — now.

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TL;DR

This week, small autonomous bots are transforming how solar farms are built, slashing labor needs and speeding renewable energy projects.

Morgan Stanley projects AI and robotics could save S&P 500 companies $920 billion annually, underscoring automation’s massive economic impact. And with backing from Bill Gates and Nvidia, FieldAI is gearing up to bring adaptable, AI-powered robots into agriculture and beyond.

These little robots are changing the way solar farms are built, saving time and money

Tiny autonomous robots are being deployed to streamline solar farm construction, cutting both time and costs. Unlike traditional methods that rely on large crews and heavy machinery, these compact machines can handle tasks like carrying panels, positioning them precisely, and even assisting with installation in rough or uneven terrain.

Developers say the robots not only improve efficiency but also reduce labor shortages and safety risks on massive solar sites. With renewable energy projects scaling rapidly, these small bots could play an outsized role in accelerating the clean energy transition.

Major Takeaway: By automating repetitive, labor-intensive tasks, small robots are making it faster, cheaper, and safer to build large-scale solar farms—helping speed the rollout of renewable power. Read More

Morgan Stanley says AI and robots could save S&P 500 companies $920 billion a year

A new Morgan Stanley report estimates that agentic AI systems and robotics could cut annual costs for S&P 500 companies by as much as $920 billion. The savings would come from automating knowledge work, streamlining operations, and reducing labor-intensive tasks across industries.

Analysts highlight that the biggest impact will likely be in areas like customer support, logistics, and manufacturing, though adoption timelines will vary by sector. While the report notes efficiency gains, it also acknowledges potential disruptions to jobs as automation scales.

Major Takeaway: AI and robotics aren’t just about futuristic tech—they represent one of the biggest cost-saving opportunities in corporate history, with massive productivity gains but real risks for the workforce. Read More

Bill Gates, Nvidia back robotics startup FieldAI to accelerate automation in agriculture and beyond

FieldAI, a robotics startup focused on applying AI and automation to agriculture and other industries, has raised new funding from big-name backers including Bill Gates and Nvidia. The company is building adaptable robots that can perform multiple tasks—from harvesting crops to managing logistics—using advanced computer vision and AI models.

Support from Nvidia will help integrate cutting-edge simulation and compute resources, while Gates’ involvement underscores the potential for robotics to improve food security and sustainability. FieldAI aims to scale its platform to tackle labor shortages and boost efficiency across global industries.

Major Takeaway: With support from Gates and Nvidia, FieldAI is positioning itself as a key player in bringing AI-powered robotics to agriculture—an industry ripe for efficiency gains and innovation. Read More

About Lucid Bots

Founded in 2018, Lucid Bots is an AI robotics company that is committed to uplifting humanity by building the world's most productive and responsible robots that can do dangerous and demanding tasks.

Headquartered in Charlotte, the company engineers, manufactures, and supports its products domestically, which include the Sherpa, a cleaning drone, and the Lavo Bot, a pressure-washing robot.

Lucid Bots' products are elevating safety and efficiency for a growing number of customers around the world. Lucid is a Y Combinator-backed company, with investments from Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others. Lucid Bots was recently recognized as the fastest growing robotics manufacturer in the United States.

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Welcome to the first edition of Robot Rundown’s Founders Spotlight, a series dedicated to showcasing the innovators shaping the future of robotics.
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Today, we're featuring UnitX, a company that's gone from just a handful of images to inspecting billions of dollars in products.

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Back in 2018, Keven Wang saw a massive gap in manufacturing quality control — slow, costly, and inconsistent inspections.

His answer? Build a robotics company that fuses AI, optics, and edge hardware to accelerate human productivity.

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Numbers: Today, UnitX has 820+ systems running in 135+ factories worldwide, inspecting $6.1B of product annually.

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Products: UnitX makes money from AI inspection platforms, software licenses, and service subscriptions.

Their lineup includes FleX, an AI-powered inline inspection system that deploys in under a week, and GenX, a generative AI tool that can train defect detectors from as few as three images.

Paired with software-defined imaging system, core AI brand and edge computing devices, these systems catch defects faster, with higher accuracy, and at massive scale.

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Coolest milestone: Using their GenX system, with just 3 images, GenX will synthetic defect images. This will enhance the AI models training efficiency and enhance detection accuracy. It deployed at a Tier-1 EV battery line — slashing defect “escapes” by 9X.

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What’s next: The Global FleX/GenX rollout with top-tier unicorn brands and systems integrator partners across automotive, EV, and electronics.

The next 12 months are all about scaling worldwide.

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Funding: UnitX has raised $59M to date — enough to put them in the upper tier of industrial AI players.

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Most misunderstood: “We’re not just software—we’re a Robotics 2.0 company integrating AI, imaging system, and edge hardware”

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Founder tip: “Design for deployment speed and reliability, prove ROI fast, and productize serviceability from day one.”

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The robotics company is quietly positioning itself to redefine factory floors worldwide — and if they execute, this could be the kind of infrastructure play that’s hard to dislodge.

TL;DR

NVIDIA is supercharging robot development with new Omniverse libraries, physics-accurate AI models, and scalable compute to speed simulation and deployment. In Los Angeles, Cosmic Buildings and ABB Robotics are bringing mobile microfactories to wildfire zones, producing modular homes on-site. Huntington Beach PD is adding drones for policing and search-and-rescue, while Flytrex just scored FAA approval for nationwide BVLOS deliveries—paving the way for large-scale, cost-effective drone logistics.

NVIDIA Opens Portals to World of Robotics With New Omniverse Libraries, COSMOS Physical AI Models, and AI Computing Infrastructure

NVIDIA has unveiled a suite of new robotics tools, including expanded Omniverse libraries, COSMOS physical AI models, and upgraded AI computing infrastructure to accelerate robot design, simulation, and deployment. The Omniverse updates add richer digital twin capabilities, while COSMOS delivers physics-accurate models for more realistic AI training. NVIDIA is also scaling its cloud-based compute offerings to handle increasingly complex simulations, aiming to reduce development time from months to weeks. These advancements target a wide range of sectors—from manufacturing to logistics—by enabling more capable and adaptable robots.

Major Takeaway: NVIDIA’s latest toolkit blends realistic physics, powerful simulation, and scalable compute, giving robotics developers the means to build smarter, more capable machines faster than ever. Read More

Cosmic Buildings uses ABB Robotics to create robotic microfactories for rebuilding after Los Angeles wildfires

Construction startup Cosmic Buildings is teaming up with ABB Robotics to deploy mobile microfactories that can rapidly produce modular housing components in areas devastated by wildfires around Los Angeles. These container-sized facilities house robotic arms capable of fabricating walls, floors, and other structural elements on-site, cutting transportation needs and speeding up rebuilding. The system is designed to be scalable and relocatable, enabling fast response to disaster zones and reducing reliance on centralized factories. Cosmic aims to use the approach to deliver affordable, sustainable housing more quickly in both emergency and long-term projects.

Major Takeaway: By combining mobile microfactories with robotic automation, Cosmic and ABB are rethinking how to rebuild communities—bringing manufacturing to the disaster site instead of the other way around. Read More

Huntington Beach Adds Drones To Police Force

The Huntington Beach Police Department is expanding its aerial capabilities by adding drones to its toolkit for crime prevention and emergency response. The drones will be used for tasks such as monitoring large events, aiding in search-and-rescue operations, and providing real-time aerial perspectives during active incidents. Equipped with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging, they can operate day or night and relay critical information to officers on the ground. Police officials emphasize that the program will follow privacy guidelines and aim to enhance public safety without replacing human officers.

Major Takeaway: Huntington Beach is joining a growing list of cities adopting drones for policing, highlighting how aerial robotics are becoming a standard tool for faster, safer, and more informed law enforcement. Read More

Flytrex approved by FAA for nationwide BVLOS drone delivery

Flytrex has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to conduct nationwide drone deliveries beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS), a milestone that removes one of the biggest regulatory barriers for large-scale operations. The Israeli startup already delivers food and retail goods in several U.S. cities, and this new clearance will allow it to expand to more regions without the need for visual observers. Flytrex says BVLOS capability will make drone delivery more cost-effective and scalable, potentially transforming last-mile logistics for suburban and rural areas.

Major Takeaway: With BVLOS approval, Flytrex is poised to take drone delivery mainstream—unlocking broader coverage, lower costs, and faster service across the U.S. Read More

About Lucid Bots

Founded in 2018, Lucid Bots is an AI robotics company that is committed to uplifting humanity by building the world's most productive and responsible robots that can do dangerous and demanding tasks. Headquartered in Charlotte, the company engineers, manufactures, and supports its products domestically, which include the Sherpa, a cleaning drone, and the Lavo Bot, a pressure-washing robot. Lucid Bots' products are elevating safety and efficiency for a growing number of customers around the world. Lucid is a Y Combinator-backed company, with investments from Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others. Lucid Bots was recently recognized as the fastest growing robotics manufacturer in the United States.

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TL;DR

This week, FORT Robotics raised $18.9 million to scale safety for autonomous systems, the FAA unveiled its long-awaited Part 108 BVLOS proposed rule, and Belgium launched a medical drone delivery trial to improve healthcare response.

FORT Robotics adds $18.9M in Series B funding for robotic safety

FORT Robotics has secured $18.9 million in Series B funding to expand its platform for securing and controlling autonomous machines across industries like construction, manufacturing, and logistics. The company specializes in safety-critical communication—ensuring that robots, vehicles, and other autonomous systems can be reliably stopped or reprogrammed in real time to prevent accidents. Their wireless safety controllers and “machine trust” platform are designed to work with a wide range of equipment, protecting both operators and infrastructure. With the new funding, FORT plans to scale its engineering teams, enhance its cloud capabilities, and expand global deployments.

Major Takeaway: As robots move into more dangerous and dynamic environments, trust and safety become non-negotiable. FORT’s tech tackles one of the biggest barriers to autonomy: ensuring machines can be instantly controlled when it matters most. Read More

FAA Publishes Part 108 Proposal for BVLOS Drone Operations

The FAA has released its long-awaited Part 108 proposal, creating a clear framework for routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights without case-by-case waivers. The rule shifts accountability from individual pilots to companies, introduces two authorization paths—permits for lower-risk missions and certificates for complex or high-density operations—and requires roles like Operations Supervisor and Flight Coordinator. It also mandates manufacturer-defined performance limits, detect-and-avoid tech in controlled airspace, and strict security and rest standards.

Major Takeaway: Part 108 moves BVLOS from experimental to scalable, enabling broader commercial drone use while setting high bars for safety, autonomy, and corporate responsibility. Read More

Medical drone delivery trials launched in Kempen, Belgium

Belgium has launched a pilot program in the Kempen region to test medical drone deliveries between hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories. The initiative, backed by the European Union and several healthcare and aviation partners, aims to speed up the transport of critical supplies like blood samples, medication, and medical equipment. The drones will follow designated flight corridors and are equipped with safety features to operate in populated areas while meeting strict European airspace regulations. If successful, the program could be expanded nationwide to improve healthcare logistics and emergency response times.

Major Takeaway: By cutting transport times for vital medical supplies, Belgium’s drone delivery trials could make healthcare faster, more efficient, and better prepared for emergencies. Read More

About Lucid Bots

Founded in 2018, Lucid Bots is an AI robotics company that is committed to uplifting humanity by building the world's most productive and responsible robots that can do dangerous and demanding tasks. Headquartered in Charlotte, the company engineers, manufactures, and supports its products domestically, which include the Sherpa, a cleaning drone, and the Lavo Bot, a pressure-washing robot. Lucid Bots' products are elevating safety and efficiency for a growing number of customers around the world. Lucid is a Y Combinator-backed company, with investments from Cubit Capital, Idea Fund Partners, Danu Ventures, and others. Lucid Bots was recently recognized as the fastest growing robotics manufacturer in the United States.

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