Kyle Vogt, founder and former CEO of autonomous car company Cruise, announced the launch of his new robotics startup, The Bot Company.
Together with co-founders Paril Jain and Luke Holoubek, Vogt will be developing robots capable of doing household chores. The startup raised $150 million “from an amazing group of investors,” despite not having any products.
The investors include former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, and others.
The Bot Company
The former Cruise founder announced the news on his X account, saying he is “back to building,” but this time, he is focusing on “bots that do chores so you don’t have to.” The goal is to help busy people save time by automating everyday tasks.
“So many things compete for our time – commutes, longer working hours, and the complexities of modern life. Our team has spent years building robots (including the self-driving kind) that give people some of that time back, and we’re taking that a step further with this company.”
Jain led the AI team at Tesla prior to co-founding The Bot Company. He is “super pumped for the next phase of building,” having spent the last decade “building robots that give people more of their time back.” He describes The Bot Company as “taking it to the next level.”
In April, Holoubek left Cruise at nearly seven years, his most recent role being a technical advisor to the CTO. At the time, Holoubek said he plans “to keep working at the intersection of computation and the physical world. For me, robots > chatbots. More to come soon.”
Kyle Vogt’s entrepreneurial journey
Vogt co-founded Cruise with Dan Kan in 2013. General Motors acquired the startup in 2016, and Vogt took over as CEO in February 2022.
In November 2023, Vogt resigned from Cruise, following an investigation when a Cruise AV hit a pedestrian after the woman was propelled in front of the AV by a human-driven vehicle. The California DMV suspended Cruise AV permits in October 2023, and Vogt left a month later.
When he left Cruise, Vogt said he wanted to “spend time with family and explore some new ideas.” He’s kept a low profile over the past five months.
Vogt also co-founded Twitch TV in 2011, which was acquired by Amazon for $970 million three years later.
What’s happening at Cruise
In February, industry veteran Steve Kenner was appointed as the company’s first-ever chief safety officer. With nearly four decades of experience in engineering and automotive safety, Kenner “brings the perfect blend of experience.”
Prior to joining Cruise, Kenner served as vice president of safety at Kodiak Robotics, vice president of safety at Locomation, and director of product safety engineering at Uber.
The self-driving car company also announced this week that it would resume supervised autonomous driving with safety drivers in Phoenix. This is part of the company’s first steps “towards returning to its driverless missions.”
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About the author
Cheryl has contributed to various international publications, with a fervor for data and technology. She explores the intersection of emerging tech trends with logistics, focusing on how digital innovations are reshaping industries on a global scale. When she's not dissecting the latest developments in AI-driven innovation and digital solutions, Cheryl can be found gaming, kickboxing, or navigating the novel niches of consumer gadgetry.
