US-based personal robot maker Jibo raised $25.3m today in a series A round backed by Samsung Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of electronics producer Samsung.
The round was led by RRE Ventures and included participation from CRV, Flybridge Capital Partners, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Two Sigma, Formation 8, Osage Venture Partners and undisclosed individual investors.
CRV, Fairhaven Capital Partners and Osage University Partners previously provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding for Jibo in June 2014, before the company raised $2.3m in crowdfunding from website Indiegogo.
Founded in 2012, Jibo has developed a $599 home robot that learns people’s faces and recognises their presence. It will be able to play with children, act as a personal assistant and take group photos, according to the company’s website.
The capital will primarily be used to meet the 4,800 pre-orders from Indiegogo, though cash has also been earmarked for the hiring of additional staff, the development of new prototypes and the establishment of a developer community to create new apps for Jibo’s first product.