Amazon-Backed Skild AI Launches $1.5B Robotics Brain Model

Skild AI, a robotics startup backed by Amazon and SoftBank, has launched Skild Brain, a foundational artificial intelligence model designed to enable robots to perform a wide range of physical tasks with human-like reasoning and adaptability. The model can be deployed on various robots, including humanoids and factory machines, allowing them to climb stairs, maintain balance, and pick up objects in cluttered environments while incorporating safety measures to limit dangerous force. Skild Brain is trained using a combination of simulated scenarios, human-action videos, and live data from deployed robots, creating a 'shared brain' that continuously improves through real-world feedback. This approach addresses the challenge of limited robotics training data available online, differentiating Skild's model from other robotics AI that rely heavily on vision-language models with minimal real-world data. The technology is already in use by companies such as LG CNS and is expected to speed up the scaling of robotic capabilities across industries despite the inherent physical deployment challenges. Skild AI has raised $300 million in a Series A funding round valuing it at $1.5 billion, with investors including Jeff Bezos and top venture capital firms.