Robot Dog Developer Raises $50M to Extend Capabilities, Deployment for Robot Dog

ANYbotics has raised $50 million to expand the capabilities and deployment of its robot dog, ANYmal.

The four-legged, autonomous robot dog is designed for industrial inspection purposes and comes at a time when ongoing labor shortages are pushing businesses towards automation to ease the burden on existing workforces. 

The latest funding round was led by tech investors Walden Catalyst and NGP Capital, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Aramco Ventures, Swisscom Ventures and other existing investors. 

ANYbotics said its robot has particular applications in the heavy industry sectors such as oil and gas, chemicals, power, mining, metals and minerals, and utilities. The startup said it’s already received preorders for ANYmal from oil and gas majors including Shell and Siemens Energy, with the quadruped robot designed to improve worker safety, streamline operations and improve sustainability efforts at a site.

The company said the latest funds will be used to boost its presence on international markets and develop new capabilities for ANYmal.

“This funding validates our unique approach to addressing fundamental challenges of operating complex industrial facilities,” said Péter Fankhauser, ANYbotics’ CEO. “Our legged robots have already proven their value in increasing productivity and safety. With this investment, we will expand internationally and accelerate the development of our robots’ AI capabilities such as manipulation for maintenance work to revolutionize automated industrial operations.”

ANYbotics currently has ongoing collaborations with ETH Zurich, the University of Oxford and Nvidia to continue developing ANYmal’s capabilities.

“We are thrilled to invest in ANYbotics, a pioneering technology originated at ETH Zurich that combines AI and Reinforcement Learning with robotics to create highly robust and autonomous four-legged robots,” said Young Sohn, Walden Catalyst’s managing partner. “This unique technology allows robots to be easily deployable in complex industrial environments, making it an efficient solution for inspection applications in environments that are dangerous for human beings.”