A Bold New Chapter in Home Robotics
Kyle Vogt, the former co-founder and CEO of autonomous vehicle company Cruise, has raised another $150 million for his latest venture, The Bot Company, according to a report from Reuters. The round was reportedly led by investment firm Greenoaks and comes less than a year after the company’s initial launch.
Founded by Vogt alongside Paril Jain, former AI tech lead at Tesla, and Luke Holoubek, a former Cruise software engineer, The Bot Company is developing advanced robots designed to assist with everyday household chores. Vogt has not yet commented publicly on the recent funding.
High-Profile Backers Bet on Household Automation
This latest capital injection builds on the company’s initial $150 million seed round, which included contributions from some of Silicon Valley’s most influential names. Backers included former GitHub CEO and investor Nat Friedman, Pioneer founder Daniel Gross, Spark Capital’s Nabeel Hyatt, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, co-founder John Collison, and venture firm Quiet Capital.
The surge of investment reflects growing enthusiasm in the tech world for AI-powered robotics that can move beyond industrial use cases into consumers’ homes—a trend that has been gaining steam alongside breakthroughs in generative AI and machine learning.
A Fresh Start After Cruise Controversy
The formation of The Bot Company marked a new chapter for Vogt, who stepped down from Cruise in late 2023 following a serious incident involving one of its autonomous vehicles. On October 2, a Cruise robotaxi dragged a pedestrian approximately 20 feet after the individual had initially been struck by a human-driven vehicle. The incident prompted intense scrutiny and regulatory challenges, culminating in Vogt’s resignation.
Now, with The Bot Company, Vogt appears to be shifting focus from streets to living rooms, with ambitions to make intelligent robots a part of everyday life.
For more on AI developments in robotics, check out TechCrunch’s robotics coverage.
