Covariant Secures $80M to Expand Universal AI for Warehouse Robots
Berkeley-based Covariant raises $80 million in Series C funding to advance its universal AI software that enables industrial robots to pick and manipulate unfamiliar objects. The technology currently powers automation systems across various global industries.
Covariant, a Berkeley-based startup, raises $80 million in Series C funding to scale its universal AI technology for robotic manipulation. This latest investment round brings the company's total funding to $147 million just two years after its public launch. Index Ventures leads the round with participation from new investors Temasek and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
The company plans to use the new capital for research and development and to expand its 80-person team. Covariant develops the Covariant Brain, a universal AI system that enables robots to see, reason, and act autonomously in real-world environments. This technology focuses specifically on teaching robots how to manipulate objects they have never encountered before and operate in entirely new settings.
Over the past year, customers across Asia, Europe, and North America deploy the Covariant Brain for complex order picking, putwall, and sorter induction tasks. The technology serves a wide variety of industries, including fashion, pharmaceutical, grocery, and general merchandise. Co-founder Peter Abbeel notes that this production-grade autonomy achieves the long-sought holy grail of warehouse automation by allowing different robot types to handle drastically different products.