Genesis AI, a Paris and Palo Alto-based physical AI research lab and robotics company, has emerged from stealth with $105 million in funding to develop a universal robotics foundation model (RFM) and a horizontal platform for general-purpose physical AI. Co-led by Eclipse and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Bpifrance, HSG, Eric Schmidt, and Xavier Niel, the funding will fuel Genesis’s mission to automate physical labor, addressing a $30-40 trillion global market.
Genesis AI raises $105M to build a universal robotics foundation model.
Aims to automate physical labor with a horizontal AI platform.
Combines high-fidelity physics simulation with real-world robot data.
Backed by Eclipse, Khosla Ventures, Bpifrance, and industry leaders.
Plans to open-source parts of its data engine and foundation model.
Targets industries struggling with labor shortages and automation gaps.
Genesis AI is developing a universal robotics foundation model (RFM) to power general-purpose robots capable of performing diverse tasks. Unlike traditional robotic systems, which rely on rigid, narrow software stacks, Genesis’s RFM offers robustness, flexibility, and cost efficiency. This approach addresses the limitations of current automation, where over 95% of physical labor remains unautomated due to challenges in dexterity, cognition, and real-world reasoning.
The company’s data-centric approach integrates high-fidelity physics simulation, multimodal generative modeling, and large-scale real-world robot data collection. Genesis’s in-house simulation stack generates rich synthetic data, complemented by an efficient real-world data collection system. This dual data engine creates the largest, most diverse, and highest-quality dataset for training RFMs, bridging the gap between digital and physical AI.
With 75% of global companies facing labor shortages, Genesis’s platform targets industries where automation is limited. “General-purpose robots powered by physical AI will define the next major chapter of human history. While digital AI has made extraordinary progress, physical AI – the intelligence that allows machines to perceive, understand, and interact with the real world – has lagged behind,” said Zhou Xian, CEO of Genesis. “We’re here to change that.” The company aims to unlock unlimited physical labor, transforming sectors like manufacturing, logistics, and construction.
Genesis plans to open-source components of its data engine and foundation model, enabling developers, researchers, and partners to build on its innovations. This strategy fosters collaboration and accelerates advancements in physical AI, positioning Genesis as a leader in the robotics ecosystem. The company’s team, with expertise from Mistral AI, Nvidia, Google, and top universities like MIT and Stanford, is well-equipped to execute this vision.
“Even in the most ‘automated’ industries today, the robot-to-human ratio rarely exceeds 1:30, due to the long tail of tasks requiring dexterity, cognition, mobility, and real-world reasoning that current robots simply can’t handle,” said Eclipse Partner, Charly Mwangi. “Genesis has the vision, strategy, and world-class team to define the era of physical AI.” Similarly, Kanu Gulati of Khosla Ventures noted, “Owning the entire data pipeline in-house gives them a unique data advantage.”
Genesis AI’s emergence marks a pivotal step toward scalable, general-purpose robotics. By combining advanced AI, simulation, and real-world data, the company is poised to redefine automation, addressing global labor challenges and unlocking trillions in economic value.
Genesis is a global physical AI research lab and full-stack robotics company pioneering the world's first universal robotics foundation model and horizontal robotics platform. With a mission to unlock unlimited physical labor, Genesis empowers the deployment of general-purpose robots to perform the essential physical work that underpins the global economy.
With ~$5 billion in assets under management, Eclipse is a team of operators and investors partnering with exceptional companies from ideation to all stages of growth to unlock solutions to age-old physical industry problems through the intersection of bits and atoms and the rise of physical AI.
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