US-based artificial intelligence researcher Vicarious has raised a $12m series C round from investors including power and automation product manufacturer ABB, Vicarious co-founder D. Scott Phoenix told VentureBeat on Thursday.
Founded in 2010, Vicarious is developing technology that will enable machines to think and learn like humans.
The company has now raised almost $70m in total, with existing investors including Formation 8, Felicis Ventures, OS Fund, Open Field Capital, Good Ventures, Initialized Capital, actor Ashton Kutcher, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and investor Peter Thiel through his Founders Fund.
The sum provided by ABB, which invested through its corporate venturing arm, ABB Technology Ventures (ATV), totals less than $10m, ATV managing director Girish Nadkarni, told Reuters.
Nadkarni, said in an official statement: “This partnership is a perfect fit. ABB is a pioneer in the robotics industry while Vicarious has positioned itself to do the same for AI.
“Robotics technology has reached the point where it can perform many tasks that are challenging or unsafe for humans. The combination of robots and artificial intelligence offers great opportunities for the future.”