Ex-Carousell leader’s robotics firm exits stealth with YC backing

Cortex AI and CareSense founder Lucas Ngoo / Photo credit: CareSense

The new robotics venture of Lucas Ngoo, co-founder of Singapore-based recommerce firm Carousell, has emerged out of stealth mode.

Named Cortex AI, the startup has joined Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 batch.

The founder previously told Tech in Asia that his startup will focus on general-purpose robotics, developing an AI model “that you can then put into a robot.” With this model, businesses can teach robots new tasks without having to make significant reinvestments in training.

Cortex AI’s website features demos of robots performing tasks like bagging groceries and folding boxes.

The startup also covers the deployment of its robots. If they fail, Cortex AI handles recovery and data collection that feeds back into training.

Drawing from Ngoo’s experience in Carousell, Cortex AI runs a platform that matches physical workplaces with robotics-focused AI labs. Called Cortex Marketplace, it allows workplaces in the startup’s network to host data collection and evaluation sessions for developers and their AI-powered robots.

The marketplace also gives R&D teams access to real-world data, though Ngoo said that the service is not yet public.

The founder is running Cortex AI concurrently with CareSense, an AI-powered health companion launched last year. It serves as a digital health coach that derives insights from users’ uploaded photos of their diets and workouts.

See also: Carousell co-founder chases AI frontier