Search Results For: Anki

We reported last June Anki already had a prototype of its next consumer robot prior to shutting down. The Robot Report has learned there were multiple products in the works, and none of them are what you’d expect. First, meet Bingo, a security robot with a German Shepherd-inspired design. Anki was working on two versions…

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on December 27, 2019 at 11 AM EST. The Robot Report spoke to Digital Dream Labs Founder H. Jacob Hanchar and added new information about relaunching Anki products and a potential subscription model and open-source Vector 2.0.  Anki’s robots might be making a comeback, after all. Digital Dream Labs,…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  StretchTech won its patent infringement lawsuit against Anki, the once-popular consumer robotics company that closed in April 2019. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled (PDF) Anki directly and indirectly infringed…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  The patent portfolio for Anki, the once-popular consumer robotics company that closed in April 2019, is now up for sale. The sale includes patents and trademarks for the Overdrive, Cozmo, and Vector product lines. Hilco Streambank, which is…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  Consumer robotics company Anki shut down in April, taking many by surprise. But a recent teardown video shed light on some of the complex, costly, and manual manufacturing processes involved with building the Anki Vector robot. Swetha…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  Hanns Tappeiner, who founded Anki with Mark Palatucci and Boris Sofman in 2010, has been named Director of Product Development at Apple’s Special Projects Group. Tappeiner within the last few days updated his LinkedIn profile, which indicates he…

StretchTech is suing shuttered consumer robot maker Anki for allegedly infringing on three of its patents.

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  The news just broke that Anki Co-Founder and CEO Boris Sofman is now leading Waymo’s autonomous trucking efforts. Sofman wrote a blog on LinkedIn announcing the move and said 12 other former Anki employees have already joined…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  In what is likely the final nail in the coffin, Waymo has hired 13 former Anki employees, including Co-Founder and CEO Boris Sofman. According to Sofman’s LinkedIn profile, he is now Director of Engineering, Head of Trucking,…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  For everyone wondering about a potential Anki comeback, don’t get your hopes up. Starting today and running through June 20, the assets inside Anki’s 40,000-square-foot office in San Francisco are being auctioned off. This is one of…

The shock ripped through the industry, on almost every social media platform techies were bemoaning the loss of Anki. As a former robot toys maker, I read the epitaph months earlier in the title of Lara Sorokanich’s Medium post, “Anki’s AI Robot Is a Delightful (and Expensive) Desk Toy.” When asked this week to comment,…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  It’s been just over a week since consumer robotics company Anki shut down. The company now has a statement posted to its website that addresses the shutdown and ongoing support for its robots out in the world.…

Dealing yet another massive blow to the consumer robotics industry, Anki shut down after raising $200 million in funding since it was founded in 2010. A new round of funding reportedly fell through at the last minute, leaving the San Francisco-based company with no other option but to lay off its entire staff on Wednesday. Other recent…

Update on December 26, 2019: Anki’s assets have been acquired by edtech startup Digital Dream Labs. Read Story.  Anki, the popular consumer robotics company and maker of Cozmo, Overdrive and Vector, has shut down. According to Recode, which first broke the story, a new round of financing fell through at the last minute and led…

Better late than never. Digital Dream Labs (DDL), the edutainment startup that acquired Anki’s IP in December 2019, is gearing up to relaunch the popular Cozmo and Vector consumer robots by signing a global retail distribution deal with Protempo. The goal is to have the robots physically on retail store shelves in time for the…

Artificial intelligence (AI) remains a major buzz word across many industries, including manufacturing, with the media covering new AI capabilities and trends playing a key role in enabling the digitalization of production. But what’s the real story? In many cases, AI exists only in theory, and there’s a long way to go before it’s ubiquitous.…

As the pace of digital transformation in manufacturing continues to accelerate, Fictiv announced a new $35 million round of funding led by 40 North Ventures to expand Fictiv’s Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem. Honeywell, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Adit Ventures, and M20 also participated, along with previous investors including Accel, G2VP, and Bill Gates. This brings Fictiv’s…

One proven method for illustrating macro trends in the robotics sector, uncovering novel technological innovations, as well as surfacing overlooked business opportunities, is to rigorously analyze sector investment. Investment levels are a key indicator of an active market and the unambiguous affirmation of the commercial viability of individual companies. Both end-user companies and solutions providers…

2020 has been a year unlike any other. If the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t enough, several other world-shifting events dominated headlines, including wildfires, an impeachment trial, a racial justice movement, and an unprecedented U.S. election. While most people are understandably eager to turn the page and hit the ground running in 2021, it’s important to recap…