# Robust AI

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/robust-ai  
**Vertical:** Manufacturing & Industry  
**Subcategory:** Warehouse Robotics  
**Tier:** 2  
**Website:** robust.ai  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

Robust AI makes Carter, an AI-powered collaborative warehouse robot; raised $97M; founded by Gary Marcus and Rodney Brooks; serves fulfillment centers with safe human-robot collaboration.

## Company Overview

Robust AI is a San Jose-based robotics company founded in 2019 by cognitive scientist Gary Marcus and legendary roboticist Rodney Brooks (creator of the Roomba and iRobot). The company's mission is to build safe, collaborative industrial robots that can work alongside human workers without safety cages. Robust AI has raised approximately $97 million in funding from investors including Playground Global and others, and has developed Carter — a collaborative autonomous mobile robot (AMR) designed for warehouse and fulfillment center environments.

Carter is designed to transport goods across fulfillment center floors, working alongside human workers in dynamic and unpredictable environments. Unlike traditional warehouse robots that require fixed infrastructure like magnetic tape or QR codes, Carter uses a combination of AI-based navigation, computer vision, and advanced sensors to navigate dynamically. The robot is built around Robust AI's proprietary cognitive robotics platform, which emphasizes explainability, predictability, and safety-by-design principles that allow the robot to operate without physical barriers separating it from workers.

Robust AI targets large e-commerce fulfillment centers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and retail distribution networks facing labor shortages and growing throughput demands. The company differentiates from competitors like 6 River Systems, Locus Robotics, and Fetch Robotics through its focus on cognitive transparency — robots that can communicate their intentions and behave predictably in ways that human workers can understand and trust — backed by its founders' deep expertise in robotics and cognitive science.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Robust AI's main product?
Carter is Robust AI's primary product — a collaborative autonomous mobile robot (AMR) designed to transport goods in warehouse and fulfillment center environments alongside human workers without safety cages.

### Who founded Robust AI?
Robust AI was founded in 2019 by Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist, and Rodney Brooks, the roboticist who co-founded iRobot and created the Roomba, bringing deep AI and robotics expertise to the company.

### How much has Robust AI raised?
Robust AI has raised approximately $97 million in funding, with investors including Playground Global.

### What makes Carter different from other warehouse robots?
Carter operates without fixed floor infrastructure, uses cognitive AI for dynamic navigation, and is designed to be transparent and predictable in its behavior — allowing workers to anticipate and trust its movements.

### What industries does Robust AI target?
Robust AI targets e-commerce fulfillment centers, 3PL warehouses, and retail distribution networks that need to improve throughput and address labor shortages.

### Who are Robust AI's competitors?
Competitors include 6 River Systems (Shopify), Locus Robotics, Fetch Robotics (Zebra Technologies), and Berkshire Grey in the warehouse AMR market.

### Does Carter require special floor markings?
No, Carter uses AI-based navigation and computer vision to operate in dynamic environments without magnetic tape, QR codes, or other fixed infrastructure modifications.

### What is Robust AI's approach to robot safety?
Robust AI emphasizes safety-by-design through cognitive transparency — robots that communicate intentions, behave predictably, and can operate without physical barriers separating them from human coworkers.

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*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*