Amazon backed Skild AI unveils ‘Skild Brain’ to power robots with human-like thinking and movement

Robotics startup Skild AI, backed by Amazon and SoftBank, has launched a foundational artificial intelligence model designed to help robots learn, adapt and operate across a wide range of physical tasks. The model, called Skild Brain, can be deployed on various types of robots, including humanoid machines and factory-floor units.

Announced on Tuesday, the system marks a step forward in the development of general-purpose robotics, which has gained momentum in recent years as companies look to build machines that can perform more than just single, repetitive tasks.

Skild Brain allows robots to think and act in a way that resembles human reasoning. In demonstration videos, robots using the model were seen climbing stairs, staying upright after being pushed, and picking up objects in cluttered settings. These activities require advanced spatial awareness and real-time adaptability, something most current factory robots are not built for.

The company says the model includes built-in safeguards to prevent robots from exerting dangerous force. It is trained on a combination of simulated scenarios and real-world video footage, then refined using data collected from all deployed robots running the system.

“Unlike language or vision, there is no data for robotics on the internet. So you cannot just go and apply these generative AI techniques,” said CEO Deepak Pathak in an interview with Reuters. Pathak co-founded the company alongside Abhinav Gupta, who added, “Robots deployed by customers feed data back into Skild Brain to sharpen its skills, creating the same ‘shared brain’.”

Gupta previously led the robotics lab at Meta in Pittsburgh, while the Skild AI team includes former employees from Tesla, Nvidia and Meta. The startup raised $300 million in a Series A funding round last year, reaching a valuation of $1.5 billion. Its investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Among its early clients is LG CNS, the IT solutions arm of LG Group, along with other unnamed partners in logistics and manufacturing.