US-headquartered domestic robotics technology developer Trifo has secured $11m in a funding round led by Tsinghua University that also featured Samsung Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of electronics manufacturer Samsung.
Private equity firm Matrix Partners and venture capital firm Walden International also took part in the round. Tsinghua University invested through its Tsinghua AI Fund.
Trifo is working on an integrated software and hardware system that will add sensory, perception, and decision-making capabilities for smart robots that will be able to complete household tasks. It will put the money into research and development, and to launch its first product.
Zhe Zhang, Trifo’s founder and chief executive, said: “Robot vacuum cleaners are currently the only home robots on the market, and unfortunately they are not as smart as people think. A true home robot has to have an advanced level of perception and be capable of interacting with occupants.
“Products in the market today are designed for a single function and are not intelligent enough to learn to perform other complex tasks for chore automation, such as learning your home’s indoor landscape or identifying the best time to perform tasks autonomously.”
– This article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

US-headquartered domestic robotics technology developer Trifo has secured $11m in a funding round led by Tsinghua University that also featured Samsung Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of electronics manufacturer Samsung.

Private equity firm Matrix Partners and venture capital firm Walden International also took part in the round. China-based Tsinghua invested through its artificial intelligence fund.

Trifo is working on an integrated software and hardware system that will add sensory, perception, and decision-making capabilities for smart robots that will be able to complete household tasks. It will put the money into research and development, and to launch its first product.

Zhe Zhang, Trifo’s founder and chief executive, said: “Robot vacuum cleaners are currently the only home robots on the market, and unfortunately they are not as smart as people think. A true home robot has to have an advanced level of perception and be capable of interacting with occupants.

“Products in the market today are designed for a single function and are not intelligent enough to learn to perform other complex tasks for chore automation, such as learning your home’s indoor landscape or identifying the best time to perform tasks autonomously.”

Photo courtesy of Trifo.