Physical Intelligence is growing into a tremendous force behind a new kind of general-purpose robotic intelligence. This breakthrough, enterprising startup was co-founded by former Uber executive and serial entrepreneur 31-year-old Lachy Groom. The company, which boasts a valuation of $5.6 billion, has raised over $1 billion in funding to develop innovative robotic solutions. Groom, who sometimes seems powered by a renewable energy source all his own, is on a mission. His strategy intends to create a dynamic workforce that can adapt to the quickly changing landscape of robotics while encouraging responsible development.
The experience of academic rigour — as an associate professor at UC Berkeley, Sergey Levine has plenty of it — is what he brings to Physical Intelligence. And he likes to set the company’s mission in terms as grand as “ChatGPT, but for robots.” Of particular note to Chen is the Agency’s emphasis on cross-embodiment learning and use of varied data inputs. This unique methodology goes a long way toward enabling the company’s robots to readily pass knowledge from one hardware platform to another. This vastly enhances their intuitiveness and adaptiveness.
Physical Intelligence has around 80 people on board, with every one of them doing their best to help the company realize its grand vision. Groom would prefer to grow “as slowly as possible,” even with its heady growth and funding. This philosophy is a testament to his dedication to creating a base for the long-term health of the company.
Groom’s journey in the tech world started at a young age. By the age of 13, he had sold his first company! His reputation as one of Silicon Valley’s promising young talents has only solidified with the emergence of Physical Intelligence. He articulates his vision for the company with clarity and conviction, stating, “It’s such a pure company. A researcher has a need, we go and collect data to support that need – or new hardware or whatever it is – and then we do it. It’s not externally driven.”
Groom remains cautious regarding commercial prospects. He confesses, “I can’t tell investors how we’ll commercialize things,” which illustrates that he’s more concerned with advancing innovation over short-term investor financial gain. His view on investor relations indicates that he is aware of the difficulties involved in balancing expansion with the need for sustainability.
Physical Intelligence’s ambitious plans do so against a highly competitive and fast-moving landscape. Another operating company in the technology side of robotics, Skild AI, just recently raised $1.4 billion at a $14 billion valuation. Groom believes there is no limit to how much funding can be utilized effectively within his organization: “There’s no limit to how much money we can really put to work,” he asserts.
In robotics, computational power is arguably the most important driver of innovation. Groom admits to that reality himself, saying, “There’s never enough compute you can throw at the problem.” This quote embodies Physical Intelligence’s promise to harness technology in its mission to keep pushing technology for revolutionary solutions.
Levine’s academic insights further illuminate Physical Intelligence’s strategic direction. He adds their approach lends itself to a lower marginal cost when onboarding autonomy to new robot platforms. “The marginal cost of onboarding autonomy to a new robot platform, whatever that platform might be, it’s just a lot lower,” explains Quan Vuong, highlighting the efficiency embedded within Physical Intelligence’s methodologies.