Nursing Home Robots Startup Powers Up On $23 Million Series A

Companion robots startup Andromeda has raised million in a Series A that values the business at 0 million.

The round was led by San Francisco VC Forerunner Ventures, supported by Rethink Impact, Artesian, CSIRO-backed Main Sequence, Visible and Trampoline, as well as ex-Atlassian futurist Dom Price.

Existing backers Purpose Ventures, which led 2024’s million Seed round, and Blackbird-backed Startmate also chipped in. Galileo Ventures led an initial funding round of m in 2023

The Melbourne startup was founded by Yan Chen and Grace Brown in 2022 and went on  part of the 2022 Startmate program. The company plans to use the funding for US expansion. Brown plans to move to the US for the push.

They build AI-powered humanoid robot called Abi that blows bubbles and can “talk” to people. The colourful humanoid robots have been used as companions for the elderly in a series of aged care trials.

Sydney startup The Robot Factory, founded by Tom Culver in 2021, has taken a broader approach to aged care assistance with robots that clean, offer concierge support and even move heavy laundry bins around facilities.

AI has transformed robotics and interaction with humans since the days of Anki, the US companion robots company, responsible for Vector and Cozmo. That company failed in 2019, but was revived and now continues under Digital Dream Labs.