Humanoid – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com Latest Crypto News Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:32:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.8 https://i0.wp.com/earlybirdsinvest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cropped-New-Project-2024-12-17T235703.455.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Humanoid – Earlybirds Invest https://earlybirdsinvest.com 32 32 240146708 Factory trials begin for humanoid robots that could build more of themselves https://earlybirdsinvest.com/factory-trials-begin-for-humanoid-robots-that-could-build-more-of-themselves/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/factory-trials-begin-for-humanoid-robots-that-could-build-more-of-themselves/#respond Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:32:12 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/factory-trials-begin-for-humanoid-robots-that-could-build-more-of-themselves/

A hot potato: The prospect of humanoid robots building more humanoid robots sounds like something from science fiction, but an Austin-based company has just signed a deal that could eventually lead to this scenario. It’s inevitably caused more fears about human jobs being lost, but the company behind the machines says it will leave employees more time for “creative, thought-intensive projects.”

Robot-maker Apptronik has announced a pilot partnership with American firm Jabil. In addition to its supply chain services primarily serving OEMs, Jabil is involved in designing, engineering, and manufacturing electronic circuit boards and systems.

Jabil said that it has several customers who are developing robots and warehouse automation. The new deal will see it provide a factory environment that will offer real-world validation testing of Apptronik Apollo robots, ahead of scaling the robot for manufacturing. The 5-foot 8-inch, 160-pound robots have a 4-hour-per-battery-pack runtime and a 55-pound payload.

The pilot program will see the robots carry out an array of simple, repetitive tasks such as inspection, sorting, kitting, lineside delivery, fixture placement, and sub-assembly.

Jabil also said it has agreed to begin producing the Apollo robots in its factories, meaning that should the pilot program work out, these robots will eventually be put to work building more of themselves.

The idea of AI-powered robots working tirelessly to create more robots sounds concerning. Apptronik told TechCrunch this is still a ways off, though it is targeting 2026 to begin manufacturing commercial units.

Before we start to worry about robots building more robots, there’s the pressing issue of how this type of increased automation will impact human jobs.

The makers of automation/AI systems regularly claim that their products will help workers rather than replace them, with the machines carrying out more repetitive and monotonous tasks so humans can concentrate on other work.

Apptronik followed the same line, stating that its robots will give people more time for projects that the machines cannot do. The announcement says those whose tasks have been taken by the Apollo robots could spend more time on “creative, thought-intensive projects” – like writing resumes, probably.

This is the second major pilot deal entered into by Apptronik. It signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz in March 2024 that saw Apollo put to work on certain tasks on the automaker’s production lines.

In January last year, BMW announced that humanoid robots would begin working at its vehicle manufacturing plants, starting in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The 5-foot 6-inch, 130-pound robots, made by Californian Robotics startup Figure, were successfully tested at the facility in June, when they inserted sheet metal parts that were assembled as part of the chassis.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/factory-trials-begin-for-humanoid-robots-that-could-build-more-of-themselves/feed/ 0 22435 GEODNET Raises $8M In Strategic Round Led by Multicoin Capital to Equip Humanoid Robots With Centimeter-Level Accuracy https://earlybirdsinvest.com/geodnet-raises-8m-in-strategic-round-led-by-multicoin-capital-to-equip-humanoid-robots-with-centimeter-level-accuracy/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/geodnet-raises-8m-in-strategic-round-led-by-multicoin-capital-to-equip-humanoid-robots-with-centimeter-level-accuracy/#respond Tue, 25 Feb 2025 18:35:17 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/geodnet-raises-8m-in-strategic-round-led-by-multicoin-capital-to-equip-humanoid-robots-with-centimeter-level-accuracy/

[PRESS RELEASE – New York, CA, February 25th, 2025]

Leading DePIN Grows Revenue 400% YoY, Expands Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Network To Autonomous Robotics Manufacturers

GEODNET Foundation, the primary steward of GEODNET, the world’s largest precision positioning network, today announced an $8M strategic round led by Multicoin Capital with participation from ParaFi and DACM, bringing the project’s total financing to date to $15M. The foundation will use the capital to service the network’s rapidly growing customer pipeline and support new robotics and physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications and customers.

Real-time kinematics (RTK) is a navigation technique that enhances positioning data from satellite-based systems—such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou—to achieve real-time, centimeter-level accuracy. GEODNET recently became the largest RTK network in the world and now boasts more than 13,500 user-deployed reference stations across 4,377 cities in more than 142 countries. These stations provide precision location services to thousands of robots daily, including autonomous trucks, construction vehicles, agricultural equipment, drones, robotic lawnmowers, robotic marine vehicles, and much more.

“GEODNET improves the accuracy, availability, and affordability of precision positioning for today’s intelligent robots. The network provides a 100x improvement in location accuracy compared to GPS alone, and is a perfect companion to on-device sensors, such as Cameras, LiDAR, and IMUs. GEODNET is helping make the dream of intelligent drones and robots a practical reality today,” said Mike Horton, founder, GEODNET. “With this new funding, we will aggressively expand our robotics ecosystem and accelerate support for new intelligent robots, both in consumer and enterprise applications.”

GEODNET customers and partners include large industrial companies, governmental organizations, and enterprises, such as Propeller, DroneDeploy, Quectel, USDA, HemisphereGNSS, Septentrio, and others. As new customers have been onboarded over the past year, the network’s on-chain annual recurring revenue has grown by more than 400% in 2024.

According to recent studies from GlobalData, the robotics market aims to expand to over $200B in revenue by 2030 as more autonomous robots, drones, and dog – and humanoid robots come online. Precision location services are essential for training these robots and operating them in the field; GEODNET equips these robots with the data they need to safely and autonomously navigate complex environments with a high degree of precision, both individually and in cooperative swarms. GEODNET is currently prioritizing partners who manufacture robotic dogs and humanoid robots. Interested customers can either contact the foundation or sign up for a free, 30-day trial.

“GEODNET joined the ranks of other successful DePINs like Helium, IO Net and Hivemapper this year. They all have found product-market fit and are solving large, real-world problems,” said Kyle Samani, Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital. “We are proud to support GEODNET’s vision to enable the pervasive robotics; the future of robotics and physical AI holds tremendous potential and is poised to revolutionize multiple, multi-billion-dollar industries.”

​​The GEODNET network consists of reference stations, which receive signals from the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Each station is capable of delivering precise RTK correction data to devices within a range of approximately 20-40 kilometers. Any device equipped with a GNSS receiver, such as a car, drone, mobile phone, or tractor, can connect to the GEODNET network.

GEODNET currently supports multiple reference stations, including HYFIX’s MobileCM Triple-Band GNSS Base-Station, a ready-to-use Geodetic Grade GNSS base station. Network contributors can earn GEOD tokens for hosting base stations.

GEOD is live on Solana and the GEODNET Foundation is backed by some of the blockchain and DePIN’s most respected investors, including Borderless Capital, Multicoin Capital, ParaFi, DACM, CoinFund, Pantera, VanEck, Animoca Brands, Finality Capital Partners, Tangent, North Island Ventures, Modular Capital, Road Capital, Reflexive Capital, Reverie, IoTeX, JDI, SNZ, and Santiago R. Santos.

To get involved or learn more about GEODNET, users can visit https://geodnet.com.

About GEODNET

GEODNET is the world’s largest precision positioning network. GEODNET’s global network of RTK stations complements on-device sensors such as Cameras, LiDAR, and IMUs to equip AI-based autonomous systems with real-time, centimeter-level location data. GEODNET Network provides cryptographic guarantees of data transmission, location servicing, and data ownership authenticity. GEOD is live Solana and the network is one of the leading DePIN projects in the ecosystem. To get involved or learn more about GEODNET, users can visit https://geodnet.com.

About GEODNET Foundation 

GEODNET Foundation is a Singapore-based non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining GEODNET, the world’s largest precision positioning network. The Foundation helps coordinate network contributors, end-users, and core developers through programs, grants, and events. The Foundation’s mission is to enable pervasive robotics and power our intelligent future. To learn more about GEODNET Foundation, users can visit https://geodnet.com.

About Multicoin Capital 

Multicoin Capital is a thesis-driven investment firm that invests in cryptocurrencies, tokens, and blockchain companies. Crypto networks and companies will create trillions of dollars of value over the next decade. However, investing in tokens is fundamentally different than investing in companies. New tools, heuristics, and security measures are needed to responsibly invest in this ecosystem. We leverage our deep understanding of blockchain technology and crypto markets to deliver exceptional returns. For more information, users can visit: https://multicoin.capital.

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