Swiss-Mile’s recent achievement in securing $22 million in seed funding marks a significant milestone in the robotics industry. The company’s distinctive wheeled quadruped robot, derived from ANYbotics’ ANYmal, offers a novel approach to robotic mobility and functionality. This investment, led by Jeff Bezos through Bezos Expeditions and HongShan, underscores the growing interest in advanced robotic solutions. Notably, the robot’s ability to walk, drive, and stand upright on two legs, coupled with its package manipulation capabilities, sets it apart from traditional quadrupeds like Boston Dynamics’ Spot or Unitree’s Go2.
In earlier reports, Swiss-Mile had focused on demonstrating the robot’s versatility in various pilot programs, including last-mile delivery in smart cities and security for critical infrastructure. These initial applications highlighted the robot’s potential in real-world scenarios, paving the way for the current investment. The company’s emphasis on embodied AI, which integrates reinforcement and supervised learning, further enhances the robot’s adaptability and efficiency.
Pioneering Robotic Mobility
Swiss-Mile has differentiated its quadruped from others by incorporating wheels, allowing it to transition seamlessly between walking and driving. This unique feature enhances its versatility in varied environments, from urban landscapes to complex industrial settings. The company has spent the past year fine-tuning this capability through extensive pilots, aiming to address specific customer needs.
Strategic Investment and Vision
The $22 million funding round saw participation from prominent investors, including Bezos Expeditions and HongShan, with additional backing from Armada Investment. Franziska Bossart, Head of the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, expressed optimism about Swiss-Mile’s potential:
“The Swiss-Mile team is building innovative real world-oriented solutions utilizing embodied AI and robotics, bringing their expertise to various industries.”
This investment aligns with Amazon’s broader strategy of supporting emerging technology companies through its Industrial Innovation Fund.
Swiss-Mile’s approach to embodied AI involves creating a unified framework that allows robots to learn and adapt autonomously. This methodology enables the generation of novel robotic behaviors, refined continuously through real-world and synthetic data. Harry Wang, founder and CEO of Linear Capital, highlighted Swiss-Mile’s global perspective and customer-centric approach:
“What excites me most about Swiss-Mile is their international and customer-centric mindset from the very beginning. They will be able to leverage their global resources to make Swiss-Mile a leading power in the next wave of physical AI revolution.”
Amazon’s Industrial Innovation Fund, a $1 billion corporate venture capital fund, has been active since 2022, investing in several robotics startups like Agility Robotics, Bionic Hive, and Mantis Robotics. The fund aims to foster technological advancements by providing direct investment to companies with significant potential. Recently, the fund led the seed round for Instock, which offers a unique ASRS system recognized with a 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award.
The future prospects for Swiss-Mile appear promising as it continues to refine its wheeled quadruped and expand its market reach. By leveraging embodied AI, the company aims to create more adaptive and efficient robots capable of handling various tasks across industries. This continued innovation could significantly impact sectors like logistics, security, and construction, providing more versatile and cost-effective robotic solutions.
