Minerva Humanoids Raises $10 Million for Robots Built for Dangerous Jobs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Minerva Humanoids has raised approximately $10 million in pre-seed funding to develop a humanoid robot designed for hazardous jobs, including work at oil and gas facilities, where trained specialists could operate machinery without entering dangerous environments.

The company announced the funding, emerging from stealth with its first robot, Roger. General Catalyst led the round, with Long Journey Ventures and Credo Ventures as co-leads. Other investors include Hugging Face, RunwayVC and Compound.

Roger is a semi-autonomous humanoid controlled through a virtual reality headset. A trained operator sees through the robot's cameras and directs tasks requiring human judgment, while Minerva's onboard AI handles balance, navigation and recovery from falls.

The approach differs from humanoid systems intended to perform industrial tasks with little direct human intervention. Minerva is developing Roger as a remotely operated machine that can use existing human skills in workplaces built around people.

The robot's design as an effort to make remote operation intuitive, according to Sandor Felber, Minerva co-founder and CEO. Roger’s arm geometry includes wrist axes arranged to resemble those of a human, while its sensing system provides multiple camera perspectives and thermal imaging.

The company says it developed Roger from an initial design into a walking prototype in about five months. Its software was tested on third-party robots while the custom hardware was being designed and assembled.

Minerva says its AI and software are developed primarily in the United States, while its initial prototypes are manufactured and assembled in Germany. The company plans to establish production in both countries.

Felber previously worked on humanoid AI research at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Tesla's Optimus program. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Maurice Rahme previously worked on Boston Dynamics' Stretch warehouse robot.

The startup plans to begin its first paid pilots this fall. It has not publicly identified the pilot customers, disclosed contract values or established that Roger is operating in routine commercial service.