Houston innovator bets on humanoid robotics with new startup

For his next move, Houston entrepreneur Nicolaus Radford has launched — in what he describes as an “anti-stealth” capability — a new company that hopes to take humanoid robotics out of science fiction novels and onto manufacturing floors.

Radford, who saw his last company, Nauticus Robotics, from inception to IPO, left the company in January. He tells InnovationMap that he started receiving interesting offers from other robotics companies, but none of them were a good fit for him. However, he just couldn’t get the idea of ​​advancing humanoid robotics out of his head.

“Humanoids are the holy grail of all robotics,” says Radford. “It’s what every science fiction writer has always dreamed of. »

“That’s the future,” he continues. “And now, with this generative AI moment of 2022, where these machines seem to be much more capable, flexible, and reprogrammable – they can reason in real time. That’s a huge deal.”

Radford says he received a call from his friend, Jerry Pratt, who was CTO of the humanoid robotics company Figure AI. Both Pratt and Radford worked in robotics at NASA and each have decades of experience in the tech world. The conversation really sealed the deal for Radford, and the two officially launched Persona AI in a LinkedIn post that Radford said shocked him with the interest from the community.

Radford says with all this interest, he wants to open the company to more co-founders than just himself and Pratt, who is based in Florida.

“We’re going to give a significant share of the business to the newcomers, more than is probably typical,” Radford says. “And that’s because we know it takes a village and we want to emphasize that to everyone.”

“We’re trying to crowdsource the business,” he continues. “We have declared that we are against stealth. »

Specifically, Radford says he plans to grow the team to about 25 people over the next year, while raising early funds. It seeks individuals with diverse technology backgrounds and well-rounded experience.

“Robotics and humanoids in particular are very multidisciplinary,” says Radford. “Humanoids are a puzzle of a hundred thousand pieces, and you’re trying to put that puzzle together. »

And for Radford, putting that puzzle together in Houston is of the utmost importance. The company is headquartered here, and Radford is currently working with The Ion to set up an office there.

“We are particularly excited to bring our business to Houston,” he says. “It would be great for the city, which has many industrial manufacturing and warehousing sites.(…)I always want to highlight Houston’s technology scene, because I believe it is overlooked, under-represented. esteemed and completely competent. »

The potential for this technology is huge (Radford estimates it’s a $3 trillion market), but the first sector he plans to target is automotive, but he also sees promise in the medical, energy and domestic sectors.

“We think automotive is going to be a pioneering market. There are many publicly announced partnerships between advanced robotics companies, humanoid companies and automotive,” he says. “These people are showing themselves willing to put something in the press that says they’re developing a humanoid or piloting a humanoid. It’s huge.

With this interest, technological advancements and a significant labor shortage, Radford is convinced that the time is ripe for humanoid robotics – and for Persona AI.

“We’re at a technological tipping point where it makes sense that these machines can do this, and there’s a community of investors willing to fund it,” Radford said. “I think this is the first time in the entire history of robotics that we are closer than ever to making this a reality.”