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§ Private Profile · 1320 Decoto Rd, Union City, California, 94587, United States
Vicarious is a technology company.
Vicarious has raised $134.0M across 6 funding rounds.
Key people at Vicarious.
Vicarious has raised $134.0M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Vicarious develops artificial intelligence software that imbues robots with general intelligence, mirroring human cognitive capabilities. Its technology applies neuro and cognitive science principles, creating AI-driven automation solutions. Enabling turnkey robotics integration for complex tasks across various industries, it moves beyond traditional robotic systems.
Scott Phoenix and Dileep George founded Vicarious in 2010. Their core insight involved translating the human brain’s computational principles into artificial intelligence algorithms. This foundational approach established a novel AI architecture central to achieving sophisticated and adaptable robotic automation.
Vicarious’s technology serves industrial clients automating intricate operations through intelligent robotics. The company’s long-term vision is to create machines with general intelligence, capable of human-like learning and adaptation. This enables robots to perform a broader spectrum of complex activities for diverse sectors.
Key people at Vicarious.
Vicarious has raised $134.0M across 6 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $50.0M Series C in July 2017.
Vicarious has raised $134.0M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Vicarious's investors include Khosla Ventures, ABB Technology Ventures, Jeff Bezos, Marc Benioff, Peter Thiel, Accel, ACME Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Adeyemi Ajao, CapitalG, Craft Ventures, Felicis Ventures.
Vicarious was an artificial intelligence company founded in 2010 (with operations extending into 2012 under Vicarious Systems) that developed brain-inspired machine learning software, particularly the Recursive Cortical Network (RCN), a vision system mimicking human visual perception for interpreting images and videos.[2][1][3] It pivoted to a robotics solutions integrator using AI for automating complex tasks like kitting, palletizing, packaging, and wall picking in high-mix operations, serving e-commerce and direct-to-consumer fulfillment sectors.[1][3] Backed by over $200M from investors including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Samsung, Vicarious raised $118M total before being acquired by Intrinsic (an Alphabet robotics AI company) in April 2022, unlocking potential in industrial robotics.[1][3][2]
The company solved challenges in versatile automation too complex for traditional robotics, achieving early milestones like solving CAPTCHAs at 90% accuracy, published in peer-reviewed journals such as *Science*.[2][3] Post-acquisition, its technology integrates into Intrinsic's mission to enable AI-driven robotics for businesses, with demonstrated growth through high-profile backing and media recognition in outlets like *The New York Times* and *Wired*.[3]
Vicarious was co-founded in 2010 by D. Scott Phoenix and Dileep George in the San Francisco Bay Area.[2][3] Phoenix, previously an Entrepreneur in Residence at Founders Fund and CEO of Y Combinator-backed Frogmetrics (a touchscreen analytics firm), brought startup and investment expertise.[2] George, who served as Chief Technology Officer at Numenta (co-founded with Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky), completed his PhD at Stanford and specialized in neuroscience-inspired AI.[2]
The idea emerged from applying theorized computational principles of the human brain to create software that learns and thinks like humans, starting with the RCN vision system.[2] Early traction included reliably solving modern CAPTCHAs in 2013 (90%+ accuracy on trained styles), validated in a *Science* journal paper despite skepticism from CAPTCHA pioneer Luis von Ahn.[2] This built credibility, leading to a pivot toward practical robotics integration by 2022, culminating in acquisition by Intrinsic.[1][3]
(Note: Vicarious Surgical at vicarioussurgical.com is a distinct entity focused on medical robotics and not related to this AI/robotics firm.[4])
Vicarious rode the wave of neuroscience-inspired AI converging with robotics, addressing labor shortages in warehouses amid e-commerce booms post-2010s.[1][3] Its timing aligned with surging demand for flexible automation—traditional robots struggled with variable tasks, while Vicarious's brain-mimicking models enabled generalization, influencing shifts toward AI-native robotics seen in competitors like Covariant and Plus One Robotics.[1]
Market forces like Alphabet's push into applied AI (via Intrinsic) favored Vicarious, amplifying its impact on the ecosystem by open-sourcing concepts like CAPTCHA breakthroughs and contributing to platforms reducing robot training needs.[2][1] It helped pioneer "generalist" robotics, paving the way for scalable solutions in fulfillment and beyond, with its acquisition accelerating Alphabet's hardware-software stack for millions of developers.[3]
Vicarious's legacy as a brain-AI pioneer now fuels Intrinsic's expansion in industrial robotics, likely driving next-gen platforms for autonomous picking and handling amid AI hardware advances.[1][3] Trends like edge AI deployment and multimodal learning (vision + manipulation) will shape its trajectory, potentially evolving Intrinsic's offerings into ubiquitous tools for e-commerce and manufacturing.[1]
As robotics democratizes via Alphabet's resources, Vicarious's influence grows from niche innovator to ecosystem enabler—unlocking economic potential in automation, much like its original mission to make machines "think like humans."[2][3]
