PANews reported on August 6, citing Business Insider, that US industrial robot startup Avatar Robotics raised $6.5 million in a seed round, led by AlleyCorp and Defy.vc, with participation from Headline and Henry Ford III.
The company lets operators control robots remotely using Meta Quest headsets and controllers to pick and pack in warehouses, charging per use at a cost that's cheaper than hiring warehouse workers directly. Avatar doesn’t sell hardware—they source robots from China and provide remote labor services, while also recording what robots see and how operators react to help train AI models for more autonomous operations.