Insider Brief
- Dyna Robotics raised $23.5M in seed funding co-led by CRV and First Round Capital to develop cost-effective, task-specific embodied AI robots for real-world use in businesses of all sizes.
- Starting with practical tasks like folding and food prep using stationary robotic arms, Dyna focuses on collecting high-quality real-world data to train its AI models and advance toward general-purpose robotics.
- Founded by serial entrepreneurs Lindon Gao and York Yang (Caper AI) and ex-DeepMind scientist Jason Ma, the team combines commercial success with deep AI expertise to drive embodied AI adoption.
PRESS RELEASE — Dyna Robotics has announced a $23.5 million seed round, co-led by CRV and First Round Capital, to bring embodied AI into the real world with cost-effective, easy to deploy robots for businesses of all sizes. Dyna’s robots master one task at a time, starting with tasks like folding and food preparation that can be done using an affordable pair of stationary robotic arms. This allows embodied AI models to learn and improve in production environments as the company works toward the ultimate goal of achieving general-purpose embodied AI.
“Across sizes and industries, companies have tasks they would readily offload to robots if the right solutions existed at the right price points. Despite thriving language, image, and video models, embodied AI still hasn’t ‘cracked the code,’” said Dyna Robotics co-founder and CEO Lindon Gao. “Robotics foundation models require vast, high-fidelity datasets in the real-world, but real-world data is scarce and simulations alone can’t fully capture our complex physical environment. We’re collecting extensive, task-specific data — for everything from packaging to cleaning toilets — and landing commercial value by delivering practical solutions while systematically advancing embodied AI.”
“Dyna Robotics is tackling one of the biggest hurdles for AI robot adoption: cost,” said Bill Trenchard, Partner at First Round Capital. “A single humanoid robot can cost over six-figures — if it’s even on the market. By focusing on tasks achievable with an affordable pair of stationary arms, Dyna Robotics is reducing complexity and lowering costs, which allows them to deliver real value to customers now. We believe their strategy will accelerate embodied AI development and adoption.”
Dyna Robotics draws on its founders’ deep experience in leading cutting-edge AI and robotics research and deployment, pushing the frontier of AI-powered hardware while making it useful for customers. Co-founders Lindon Gao and York Yang are repeat founders who built and exited Caper AI for $350M, bringing AI to retailers through smart carts. Today, Caper AI’s smart carts are being used by grocery stores around the world. Third co-founder Jason Ma, a former DeepMind research scientist, has focused his career on developing foundation models for robotics, leading several novel breakthrough algorithms that enabled robots to learn complex real-world skills at scale. His work has been recognized by ICRA, CORL, ICML, and other prestigious organizations and publications.
“Dyna Robotics’ three founders combine pioneering research expertise with real world experience and a focus on bringing new technology to market,” said Max Gazor, General Partner at CRV. “Execution is everything and they’ve proven their abilities. Dyna Robotics will unlock a ton of productivity and potential with embodied AI robots which is why we’re excited to partner with this team.”
About Dyna Robotics
Dyna Robotics makes AI-powered robotics for companies of all sizes. Their robots master one task at a time — from folding to food preparation, allowing their embodied AI foundation models to cost-effectively learn in production environments as the company works toward the ultimate goal of general-purpose embodied AI. Dyna Robotics is founded by repeat founders Lindon Gao and York Yang, who sold Caper AI for $350 million, and former DeepMind research scientist Jason Ma. The company is backed by top investors including CRV and First Round. Learn more at dyna.co.
