Standard Bots
Standard Bots is an American robotics company headquartered in Glen Cove, New York, that designs and manufactures collaborative robot arms and related artificial intelligence software for industrial automation. The company markets its robots as "AI-native," meaning they are trained to perform tasks by human demonstration rather than by conventional programming. Its robots are assembled in the United States, and the company has positioned itself as an advocate for reshoring American manufacturing.
The company was co-founded by Evan Beard, who serves as chief executive officer, and David Golden. In July 2024 it raised a $63 million Series B round led by General Catalyst, with participation from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Samsung Next. In June 2026 it raised a $200 million Series C round at a valuation of $1 billion, reaching unicorn status.
History
Standard Bots was founded by Evan Beard, David Golden, and James Cordle. Beard, a Duke University graduate, had previously co-founded the startups Etacts (acquired by Salesforce) and ArmorHub (acquired by Spirent Communications), and the media company A Plus with Ashton Kutcher. Business databases including Crunchbase and PitchBook list the company's seed round as 2020, and it began commercial shipments of its first robot arm in the early 2020s.
The company's first product, the RO1 collaborative robot arm, was in production by the time of its 2024 funding round. Coverage in the New York Post in October 2024 described the company as "training robots to 'think' for themselves" through demonstration-based learning.
In 2026 the company said it was expanding its Glen Cove, New York facility to to scale vertically integrated, domestic production, and stated it was on pace to account for roughly 10 percent of new U.S. industrial-robot deployments within a year.
Products
Standard Bots designs both the hardware and software for its robots, and markets a "no-code" interface intended to let factory workers operate the robots without specialized programming. Its product line consists of several collaborative robot arms and a bimanual mobile robot. The following specifications are drawn from the company's own materials and should be treated as manufacturer claims.
Model |
Payload (kg) |
Reach (mm) |
Starting price (USD) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Spark |
7 |
900 |
29,500 |
Light-duty arm for confined spaces |
Core (RO1) |
18 |
1,300 |
37,000 |
Flagship arm; repeatability ±0.025 mm, linear speed 3 m/s |
Thor |
30 |
2,000 |
49,500 |
Heavy-payload arm for welding and heavy applications |
Bolt |
14 |
900 |
— |
Mobile, bimanual "droid" (beta); pairs with AMRs |
The RO1, the company's flagship arm, has a stated payload of 18 kg, a reach of 1.3 m, a linear speed of 3 m/s and repeatability of ±0.025 mm. Standard Bots also develops a transformer-based AI system that allows robots to learn tasks—such as machine tending, welding, palletizing, assembly and inspection—from human demonstration, and has integrated Nvidia's Isaac robotics platform for simulation and training.
Funding
In July 2024, Standard Bots announced more than $63 million in total funding, including a Series B round led by General Catalyst with participation from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and Samsung Next; additional investors included Lachy Groom, Quiet Capital, 468 Capital, Lightscape Partners and Box Group. As part of the round, Max Rimpel of General Catalyst joined the company's board.
In June 2026, the company raised a $200 million Series C round at a $1 billion valuation, led by the robotics-focused fund RoboStrategy alongside existing investors including General Catalyst. The financing was reported as making Standard Bots a unicorn and was earmarked for expanding its New York manufacturing footprint.
Customers
Standard Bots states that its customers range from Fortune 100 companies to small and mid-sized manufacturers across the United States, in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, and data centers. Organizations the company lists as customers or users of its robots include NASA, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Timken, Sonoco and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Public policy and manufacturing advocacy
Standard Bots has publicly advocated for U.S. government support of domestic robotics and manufacturing, and describes itself as an adviser to the White House and Congress on a proposed national robotics strategy. At an April 2026 hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the subcommittee chair introduced the company as "America's largest industrial robot manufacturer.". In November 2025, CEO Evan Beard testified before the Joint Economic Committee at a hearing titled "Frontier Technologies, Industrial Efficiency, and Pro-Innovation Policies," arguing that the United States must rebuild its industrial capacity to lead in robotics. In his testimony Beard said that U.S. robot quotes were roughly ten times higher than those from Chinese suppliers, and recommended measures including a national network of manufacturing centers, a manufacturing loan program and addressing the industry's talent shortage. Beard subsequently testified before the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology, and the company has called for financial incentives for U.S. manufacturers.
Media appearances
The company and its CEO have appeared in business and broadcast media. Beard discussed the company's funding and U.S. manufacturing on Bloomberg Tech, and has spoken on robotics in outlets ranging from the BBC's Panorama to Nvidia's GTC conference. Standard Bots' robots, alongside Beard, also appear in the A24 film Babygirl (2024).
See also
- Cobot
- Industrial robot
- Reshoring
External links
:Category:Robotics companies of the United States :Category:Manufacturing companies based in New York (state) :Category:Companies based in Nassau County, New York :Category:Industrial robotics