Minerva exits stealth with $10M pre-seed for humanoids built for dangerous jobs
What's the deal? Minerva HumanoidsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised roughly $10 million in pre-seed funding to build semi-autonomous humanoid robots for hazardous work in oil and gas operations and public safety. General Catalyst led the round, with Long Journey VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Credo Ventures as co-leads. The San Francisco company is emerging from stealth as it launches its first paid pilots this autumn.
Who else is in? The round drew a long roster of backers, including MVP VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, KayaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, RunwayVCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Compound, Founders EmbassyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Hugging Face, Codecademy, Walter VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Tiny VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Chaotica, and Babylon.
What's the endgame? Minerva's robot, Roger, is designed around the skill of trained specialists who already do dangerous work, letting them apply their expertise while keeping their bodies out of harm's way. A specialist operates Roger through a VR headset, seeing through the robot's eyes and performing fine manipulation remotely. Minerva Intelligence, the company's AI control system, handles balance, fall recovery, and navigation.
Why now? Hazardous jobs still put people directly at risk. Around 7,000 energy workers die each year, and bomb disposal teams rely on decades-old single-arm robots that lack dexterity.
"We didn't set out to replace the people doing them," said chief executive officer Sandor Felber. "We set out to build a robot that lets them do the job efficiently from the comfort of their office or home."
The product is built fast and across two regions. Minerva went from idea to a walking humanoid in five months. Its software and AI are developed primarily in the US, while the first Roger prototypes are made in Germany; the company plans to produce in both countries.
The signal: At $10 million, Minerva's pre-seed sits above the 95th percentile for US artificial intelligence seed-stage rounds — a sign investors are willing to write large early cheques for humanoid robotics aimed at concrete, high-risk industrial use cases rather than general-purpose promises.
Read more: portal.sina.com.hk
Image credit: jurvetson
