Irvine-based robot developer FieldAI, sporting a $2 billion valuation, is the first company to have a space at Carnegie Mellon University’s prestigious new research facility.
The 3-year-old company’s software technology lets robots operate autonomously in a variety of settings, including construction sites and nuclear power facility cleanups as well as manufacturing, mining and agriculture.
FieldAI in late August came out of stealth mode and announced that it had raised $405 million in a pair of funding rounds.
The robotics company’s valuation jumped to $2 billion from $500 million, placing it in the “unicorn” category of startups worth more than $1 billion.
More recently, FieldAI said in February it had received a “financial investment” from Hyundai Motor Group but did not specify an amount. Korean website ChosunBiz said “the investment is said to be worth several million dollars.”
The Carnegie Mellon move, announced Feb. 23, places an industry leader in physical AI into a 2,500-square-foot lab and office in the Robotics Innovation Center (RIC).
“We’ve always believed that the best robotics technology comes from blending cutting-edge research with real-world deployment,” said FieldAI CEO Ali Agha. “The RIC’s indoor and outdoor testing labs are purpose-built for the kind of work we do every day. It’s where fundamental research meets the challenges of the field, and that’s where breakthroughs happen.”
Discoveries, Accelerating Innovation
“By connecting our robotics research directly with the companies putting it to work, we strengthen the vital ties between academia and industry—accelerating innovation, informing new discoveries and ensuring that breakthrough technologies move more rapidly from lab to impact right here in Pittsburgh.” said Theresa Mayer, CMU’s vice president for research.
The arrival of FieldAI is the first in a series of planned corporate residencies at the RIC, which opened on Feb. 27. The 150,000-square-foot center, which was made possible by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, is intended to function as a co-location site for a group of industry partners, bridging the university’s fundamental research and commercial deployment.
Irvine Lease
FieldAI is one of Orange County’s most valuable privately held tech firms.
The AI robotics company’s funding comes from several prominent venture capital firms, as well as the family offices of some of the world’s wealthiest people. Backers include Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and NVentures, the venture capital arm of Nvidia.
Several top executives at FieldAI have connections that include Qualcomm, NASA and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
CEO Agha conducted postdoctoral studies at MIT and worked for seven years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
FieldAI last year completed its lease for a new, larger headquarters in Irvine, as it looks to ramp up hiring efforts in the area.
The company leased the entirety of 3 Morgan, a 41,000-square-foot R&D building in the Irvine Spectrum.
Separately, Certis Group, a leading Singapore-based provider of integrated security and operations solutions, said Feb. 24 it had has formed a strategic partnership with FieldAI.
