Robotics Startups Hope the AI Era Means Their Time Has Come

There’s a growing conviction that the dawning era of artificial intelligence means humanlike robots are finally coming, too. “We’ve had humanoid robots for decades in popular culture. Naturally, scientists want to make that a reality,” says Shahin Farshchi, a general partner at Lux Capital, a venture capital firm focused on emerging technologies. “With every technology revolution comes another attempt to make us closer to Rosey the Robot,” he adds, referring to the maid in The Jetsons.

Robots have become increasingly powerful and common in recent years, but the most successful examples don’t quite evoke the droids from Star Wars. IRobot Corp.’s Roomba vacuums and the Kiva robots that help run Amazon.com Inc. warehouses represent significant technical achievements, but they’re more like automated appliances than AI-powered companions.