Engineering and robotics company 1X has announced the successful closing of its Series A2 funding round in which it raised $23.5 million.
The company plans to use the funds to increase the efforts of building its upcoming NEO, its upcoming bipedal android model as well as scale the manufacturing of its EVE in Norway and North America.
This round was led by the OpenAI Startup Fund with manager Brad Lightcap commenting, “1X is at the forefront of augmenting labour through the use of safe, advanced technologies in robotics. The OpenAI Startup Fund believes in the approach and impact that 1X can have on the future of work.”
Other investors who took part in the round include Tiger Global and a consortium of Norway-based investors, including Sandwater, Alliance Ventures, and Skagerak Capital.
Augmenting the labour market
Bernt Øyvind Børnich, CEO and founder of 1X said, “1X is thrilled to have OpenAI lead this round because we’re aligned in our missions: thoughtfully integrating emerging technology into people’s daily lives. With the support of our investors, we will continue to make significant strides in the field of robotics and augment the global labour market.”
In highlighting the necessity of having androids deployed in the real world, the 1X CEO went on to say, “Deploying our wheeled android EVE at an unprecedented commercial scale gives us a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities the robotics community has yet to address.
“If androids are going to work in our world, they need to experience our world,” said Børnich.
1X is focused on creating robots with practical, real-world applications to augment labour across the globe. The company’s new funding will also see it increase its current team of around 60 employees.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
