Sanctuary AI Secures New Funding for General Purpose Robots with Humanlike Intelligence
Sanctuary AI, a Canadian company focused on creating “humanlike intelligence in general purpose robots,” has recently secured new funding to further their mission. The undisclosed amount of funding, announced on Wednesday (July 3), came from venture capital investor BDC Capital and the province of British Columbia’s InBC fund, bringing Sanctuary’s total investment to over $140 million.
Olivia Norton, co-founder and chief technology/product officer of Sanctuary AI, expressed excitement about the potential impact of AI in the physical world. She stated, “Following the incredible impact of pretrained transformers on the digital world over the last seven years, with acceleration in the last few, we see AI in the physical world as being the next major frontier for impacting the way we work and live.”
Norton highlighted the importance of intelligent embodied systems, or general purpose robots, in addressing societal challenges such as aging populations, plummeting birth rates, and evolving views on work. She emphasized Canada’s potential to become a global leader in this space.
Ben Gruettner, vice president of revenue at Robust.AI, discussed the role of robots and AI in the workplace, noting that these technologies, when used collaboratively with human workers, can enhance productivity and adaptability in response to changing market demands.
Sarah Sebo, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Chicago, emphasized the role of AI in enabling robots to better understand their environments, communicate effectively with humans, and improve their performance over time through feedback mechanisms.
The recent funding secured by Sanctuary AI reflects the growing interest and investment in AI and robotics technology. As these advancements continue to evolve, the potential for transformative impact on various industries and sectors remains significant. Subscribe to the daily AI Newsletter for more updates on AI developments.
