Robotics startup Skild AI, backed by global tech giants Amazon and SoftBank, has launched a breakthrough foundational AI model named Skild Brain, aimed at enabling robots of all kinds—from industrial machines to humanoids—to operate with human-like intelligence. The two-year-old company unveiled the system on Tuesday, showcasing a major step toward transforming robots from task-specific tools into adaptable, multi-purpose agents capable of spatial reasoning, balance, and real-time decision-making.
Demonstration footage revealed Skild-powered robots climbing stairs, reacting to being shoved without losing balance, and picking out objects in cluttered settings—tasks that require agility, environmental awareness, and dynamic response. According to the company, Skild Brain was built with safety in mind, including internal power limits that prevent robots from exerting excessive force. The AI is trained using a combination of simulated scenarios and human-action videos, which are later fine-tuned with real-world data collected from every robot using the system.
Skild’s innovative training model addresses a major hurdle in robotics: the absence of publicly available robotics data, unlike what exists for language and vision-based AI systems. “You cannot just apply generative AI techniques because robotics data doesn’t exist on the internet,” CEO Deepak Pathak explained. Co-founder Abhinav Gupta, a former head of Meta’s robotics lab, added that each deployed robot feeds its learning back into the Skild Brain, creating a “shared brain” that continuously evolves and improves across all clients.
Despite physical deployment being a slower process than software rollout, Skild’s model accelerates how robots learn new skills and adapt across sectors. Its client roster includes LG CNS and several unnamed players in logistics and industrial automation. The startup, now valued at $1.5 billion after a $300 million Series A round, has drawn talent from Tesla, Nvidia, and Meta. Investors include Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, who believe Skild AI’s technology could be the tipping point in achieving versatile, intelligent robotics at scale.