Cruise founder launches robotics start-up, raises $150 million
What's the story
Kyle Vogt, the ex-founder and CEO of self-driving car firm Cruise, has launched a new robotics start-up named the Bot Company.
The venture aims to develop robots and has successfully raised $150 million in funding.
Vogt shared on X that the company is building bots to help with chores, acknowledging that everyone is busy and bots can provide assistance.
Funding details
Prominent investors back Bot Company
The Bot Company has attracted significant investment from industry leaders.
Among the prominent investors are former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, Pioneer founder Daniel Gross, Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, and Spark Capital general partner Nabeel Hyatt.
Quiet Capital also contributed to the $150 million funding round.
Vogt emphasized the role of robots in modern life, stating that many things compete for our time such as commuting, the complexities of modern life, and longer working hours.
Career shift
Vogt's new venture follows resignation from Cruise
Vogt's launch of the Bot Company comes five months after his resignation as CEO of Cruise.
His departure followed an incident where a Cruise vehicle ran over a pedestrian, leading California regulators to suspend Cruise's deployment and driverless testing permits.
This effectively ended its robotaxi operations in California, where most of its operations were present.
Vogt had co-founded Cruise in 2013, which was later acquired by General Motors.
Previous ventures
Vogt's successful entrepreneurial journey
Before his tenure at Cruise, Vogt had a successful track record of founding and selling start-ups.
He co-founded Justin.tv, which later became Twitch - a live-streaming platform bought by Amazon for $970 million in 2014.
Additionally, he founded Socialcam, a social video sharing app that was bought by Autodesk for $60 million in 2012.
These experiences have undoubtedly shaped Vogt's vision for the Bot Company.