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| Source: Ally Robotics

Ally Robotics, a Bellevue, Washington-based startup that creates affordable robotic arms, has launched a crowdfunding campaign aimed at raising $8.5 million in seed funding. The campaign is being run through the crowdfunding site WAX. 

Ally’s robotic arms have already earned the company a partnership with Miso Robotics. Miso’s frying robot, Flippy 2, is at work in Jack in the Box and White Castle locations across the country. According to Ally, Miso has agreed to purchase its robotic arms for the Flippy 2 product line. The deal could bring in $30 million in revenue, according to Ally. 

Ally’s robots could reduce the cost of Miso’s Flippy units by up to 30%, according to the company. Ally’s technology aims at bringing robotics to industries with tight margins – like the restaurant and hospitality industries. Eventually, the company hopes to expand to other sectors, including agriculture, construction and manufacturing. 

“Ally isn’t content with simply developing and testing our technology in a lab,” Mitch Tolson, CEO and founder of Ally, said. “We want to get our robotic arms in the hands of real companies that are creating change for their customers. That is exactly why we’ve partnered with Miso to integrate Ally arms into Flippy. We see a future where Ally supplies retail-level robotic solutions that are affordable to all and empower every person and robot to do more, together.”

Ally’s robotic arm combines no-code software with unique hardware, which allows the robot to understand the world around it and enables sensing control. The arm is able to learn behaviors and tasks through demonstrations and can perform them with its single hand end-effector. 

Before starting Ally in January 2022, Tolson was a technical advisor for Miso Robotics, and previously held positions at Microsoft and PACCAR. The company’s goal is to meet an immediate need in the market for an affordable robotic arm, while also working towards its long term goal of democratizing robotics.