US-based robotic locomotion technology developer Agility Robotics has received $8m in series A funding from investors including Sony Innovation Fund, an investment arm of consumer electronics producer Sony.
The round was led by venture capital fund Playground Global with participation from accelerator Coal Hill Ventures’ Robotics Hub. The company has now reportedly raised a total of $8.8m, including $100,000 invested by Williamette Angels Conference in 2016.
Founded in 2015, Agility is working on robotic legs that mimic the gait of humans and other animals to help robots fulfil tasks requiring dynamism, such as military or courier functions, and it already markets a walk-and-run bipedal robot called Cassie to clients.
The capital will be used to advance business development as Agility looks to build out its products and the underlying technology. Bruce Leak, founder of Playground Global, will join the company’s board of directors.
Agility was co-founded by Jonathan Hurst, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University’s College of Engineering, as well as Mikhail Jones, a robotics engineer from the institution’s Dynamic Robotics Laboratory.
Another co-founder, Agility chief executive Damion Shelton, completed a robotics PhD at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007.
– Photo courtesy of Agility Robotics. The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.