Vayu Robotics puts delivery robot using AI foundation models on the road

While e-commerce deliveries are growing, the cost per delivery remains stubbornly high, according to Vayu Robotics Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup today released a delivery robot that it claimed combines foundation artificial intelligence models with low-cost sensors.

“The unique set of technologies we have developed at Vayu have allowed us to solve problems that have plagued delivery robots over the past decade and finally create a solution that can actually be deployed at scale and enable the cheap transport of goods everywhere,” stated Anand Gopalan, CEO of Vayu Robotics.

Three veterans from the robotics and mobility industry co-founded Vayu. Gopalan was CEO of Velodyne and took that leading lidar supplier public in 2020. Mahesh Krishnamurthi formerly worked at Apple SPG and Lyft, and Nitish Srivastava also came from Apple SPG and Geoffrey Hinton’s AI lab at the University of Toronto. Hinton is an advisor to the company.

After working in major robotics and autonomy software for two decades, the trio said they realized that high-volume robotics applications, such as deliveries, “could only be unlocked by inventing a new technology stack that involved lower-cost hardware and more robust software.” 

“The Sanskrit word ‘vayu’ signifies the intelligence that enables all motion in the universe and all movement of energy,” said the company. Vayu Robotics said its team is developing technology that will be environmentally sustainable and democratize automation for widespread adoption.

Vayu takes lidar-less approach to navigation

By 2027, 23% of American retail purchases could take place online, according to Forbes Advisor. Vayu Robotics asserted that its delivery robot is the first to combine foundation AI models with lidar-less sensors for on-road operations. 

“Traditional mobile robotics rely on costly lidar sensors and software modules built to do one task at a time, leading to expensive hardware and fragile software unable to handle new scenarios,” said the company. “Vayu’s robot does the opposite.”

Vayu said it has combined Vayu Drive, a transformer-based mobility foundation model, with the Vayu Sense passive sensor, eliminating the need for lidar. The company said its Vayu One delivery robot can operate autonomously without pre-mapping roads.

It added that the system is capable of navigating inside stores, on city streets, and unloading packages on driveways or porches, carrying up to 100 lb. (45.3 kg) at under 20 mph (32.1 kph). Vayu claimed that this model offers “the most cost-effective, safe, reliable delivery system on the market.”

Vayu said Vayu One is already rolling out in real-world applications. The company recently signed an agreement with a large e-commerce player to deploy 2,500 robots for fast delivery of goods and said it has similar commercial customers in the works.

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Vayu perception could apply to other robotics applications

Vayu Robotics said its team is also working with a leading global robotics manufacturer to replace lidar sensors with Vayu’s sensing technology for other robotic applications. The Vayu Sense Development Kit includes Vayu Sense and NVIDIA Orin.

“Our software is robot form-factor-agnostic, and we have already deployed it across several wheeled form factors,” Gopalan said. “In the near future, Vayu’s software technology will enable the movement of quadrupedal and bipedal robots, allowing us to expand into those markets as well.”

Vayu is backed by Khosla Ventures and Lockheed Martin Ventures, which contributed to its $12.7 million in seed funding in October 2023.

“At Khosla Ventures, we believe in backing businesses where critical and differentiated technologies can unlock a large market,” said Kanu Gulati, a partner at Khosla Ventures. “Vayu is a great example of this where they have deployed novel sensing and their AI foundation models to a robotic challenge that can have immense economic and societal impact.” 

“Autonomous delivery robots are only the tip of the iceberg,” said Gopalan. “With its cutting-edge innovation and deployment, Vayu is poised to lead the adoption of real-world robotics across industries. For now, Vayu’s scalable robotics architecture is set to empower small businesses to deliver products to their customers’ doorstep seamlessly.”