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In focus
- Two wheels are better than two legs for this robotics unicorn
- Why a European quantum computing firm is eyeing Singapore after its fundraise
- DeepSeek looks to raise its first external funding round
Hello reader,
During a trip to Hong Kong last year, I met a robotics firm founder who railed hard against humanoid robots. He believed the industrial robots in use already work, so there’s no need to make something that looks like us and has the same defects.
It was a compelling point for me, as was his argument that humanoid robots look more than a little unsettling.
Eric Guo, founder of AI² Robotics, doesn’t quite share that distaste for humanoids. Legs have their place, he says, just not indoors. But the logic underneath is the same: A robot needs to work like a human – not look like one.
Today’s first featured story, written by my colleague Scott, looks at the Chinese startup betting wheels beat legs and winning contracts against US rivals twice its size to prove it.
What about those familiar fears that these robots are coming to take your jobs? Guo argues that his machines are built to perform tasks that nobody wants, like staffing retirement homes and hauling cargo through warehouses at 3 a.m.
Also today, we take a look at Quobly, a European quantum computing startup that just raised US$134 million and is planting its first Asian flag in Singapore. Read on to find out why.
Peter Cowan, engagement editor
Top Stories
1️⃣ Meet the unicorn building robots for nobody’s dream job
Eric Guo, founder and CEO of AI2 Robotics / Photo Credit: AI2 Robotics
A company that’s closed 12 funding rounds in 12 months certainly has a lot of hype, but Guo’s case for wheels over legs is grounded in something more mundane: Most robots work indoors, and indoors, wheels win.
The founder also has thoughts on who’s actually winning the US-China robotics race – and it’s not the answer you might expect.
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