When I joined WestWave Capital five years ago, I wasn’t sure we’d invest in robotics. The field was known for heavy hardware, high costs, and tough scaling. But something has changed.
Today, we believe robotics is at a real inflection point. Two forces are converging:
Hardware is now cheap and commoditized.
AI is more capable than ever.
That combination is unlocking a new breed of robotics startups that are fast, lean, and software-driven. Over the past year, we have met with over 70 of the bestfunded robotics companies, in addition to their customers and investors.
We’ve already made a number of investments in the space, and here’s what we’re looking for:
Commodity hardware, advanced software. The best teams use off-the-shelf components and layer powerful AI-driven software on top. This makes iteration fast and scaling frictionless.
Easy deployment. Robots should fit into existing workflows, not the other way around. We’re drawn to companies that can install in 15 minutes (not 15 weeks) and require no special setup.
SaaS-like margins. Thanks to cheap hardware, top robotics startups look like SaaS businesses—high recurring revenue and 70–80% gross margins. That’s what growth investors are looking for too.
The robotics sector no longer feels like a moonshot. It’s real, it’s growing fast, and we’re excited to keep backing exceptional founders in the space.