Robust.AI
About
About Robust.AI
Carter is a collaborative warehouse robot that can switch between autonomous movement and direct worker guidance through its handlebar. The base carries up to 100 kg, runs for as long as 18 hours and uses a 360-degree camera and other onboard sensing to navigate fulfilment environments. A worker can take hold of the robot and move it naturally, then release it to resume autonomous transport.
Robust.AI’s software supports point-to-point movement, putaway, sortation and picking workflows on the same fleet. Customers can begin with transport tasks and add more integrated manipulation or process logic without replacing the mobile platform. At O’Neill, a 24-robot deployment was delivered through a performance-based robot-as-a-service arrangement without requiring additional fixed infrastructure. This crawl-walk-run model places Carter alongside warehouse staff first, then increases autonomy as the operating data and workflow integration mature.
Articles
Products
- Carter
Carter
Operations
Orders & commitments
- Order / commitment
2026-07-28 - O'Neill Logistics ordered 24 Carter robots for two distribution centres, with go-live planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. - two named distribution centres - Monroe, New Jersey and Savannah, Georgia
Source
Deployments
- Operating use
2026-07-08 - ShipLab began a staged Carter pilot for tote transport between fulfilment and packing stations at its Vista facility. - named customer site - Vista, California facility
Source - Operating use
2025-12-02 - DHL Supply Chain began a 15-unit Carter rollout in Mexican retail operations, Carter’s first deployment in DHL Latin America. - Mexico retail operations - Retail operations in Mexico
Source - Customer site
2025-11-13 - Carter operates in a Charlotte fulfilment site as a virtual conveyor between processing and labelling lines and more than 20 drop-off points. - named customer site - Charlotte, North Carolina warehouse
Source
Supply
Funding
- 2023-04-20 - Series A-1 - $20M - Robust.AI raises USD 20M Series A-1
Robust.AI raised USD 20 million in Series A-1 funding as it scaled robot deliveries for pilot customers. - source: techcrunch.com
Investors
- Energy Impact Partners - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-20
- Future Ventures - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-20
- JAZZ Ventures - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-20
- Playground Global - Participant - VC - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-20
- Prime Movers Lab - Lead - Unknown - 1 funding event - first seen 2023-04-20
Team
- Anthony Jules - Founder & CEO - Jules leads the Robust.AI human-centered warehouse robotics strategy, connecting AI product leadership with collaborative mobile robot deployment needs.
- Rodney Brooks - Founder & CTO - Brooks brings foundational robotics research and commercialization experience to the Robust.AI collaborative mobile robot architecture and warehouse automation direction.
Timeline
Events
- 2026-07-28 - Commercial Order - O'Neill Logistics orders 24 Robust.AI Carter robots
The agreement covers 24 Carter robots across distribution centres in Monroe, New Jersey, and Savannah, Georgia. Carter will support picking, putaway, value-added services and material-handling workflows at the two sites. Go-live is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Source - 2026-07-08 - Deployment - ShipLab starts staged Carter pilot in Vista
The initial workflow moves totes between fulfilment and packing stations. Expansion to a wider picking fleet is conditional on successful performance validation. RaaS payments are deferred at each phase until jointly defined targets are met.
Source - 2026-06-23 - Partnership - Robust.AI selects Aptiv PULSE perception for Gen 3 Carter
PULSE fuses surround-view camera and ultra-short-range radar inputs. Aptiv will pursue PL(d) certification for relevant industrial safety use cases.
Source - 2025-12-02 - Deployment - DHL begins 15-unit Carter rollout in Mexico
The rollout is Carter’s first deployment in DHL’s Latin American operations. Carter improved productivity by more than 60% in North America and 30% in Mexico. Warehouse-management-system integration is scheduled for 2026, followed by phased expansion across the Americas.
Source - 2025-11-13 - Deployment - Saddle Creek deploys Carter robots at Charlotte warehouse
Carter moves totes between processing and labelling lines and more than 20 designated drop-off points. The deployment operates as a virtual conveyor without added fixed infrastructure. The workflow reduced walking, increased tote capacity per trip and lowered floor congestion.
Source - 2025-11-10 - Partnership - Robust.AI and Aptiv partner on AI-powered collaborative robots
Aptiv’s PULSE sensor combines a surround-view camera with ultra-short-range radar for 360-degree perception. The joint architecture also uses Aptiv machine-learning perception and path-planning software plus Wind River compute platforms. Carter contributes real-time SLAM, holonomic drive and a force-sensitive handlebar for direct human control.
Source - 2025-05-16 - Partnership - Robust.AI and Foxconn partner to scale Carter robot manufacturing
Robust.AI and Foxconn announced a strategic manufacturing partnership to expand production of Carter, Robust.AI’s multi-function collaborative warehouse robot platform. Foxconn engineers had already been working with Robust.AI in the United States to build Carter, with the partnership intended to shorten production and deployment times as international demand grows. Carter is designed for flexible warehouse work including picking, point-to-point transport and mobile sorting; Robust.AI said a DHL Supply Chain deployment in Las Vegas delivered more than 60% productivity gains within weeks.
Source - 2024-10-16 - Product Launch - Robust.AI launches Carter Pro warehouse robot
Carter Pro can operate autonomously or be physically guided by workers through force-sensing interaction. Robust.AI said it was deploying solutions with DHL Supply Chain in the U.S. and Mexico alongside the launch.
Source - 2024-02-01 - Partnership - DHL partners with Robust.AI on warehouse AMRs
The partnership targets fulfillment workflows using autonomous mobile robots. DHL positioned Carter as a robotic coworker for warehouse operations.
Source - 2023-04-20 - Funding - Robust.AI raises USD 20M Series A-1
Prime Movers Lab led the round, with Future Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, JAZZ Ventures and Playground Global participating. Robust.AI said Carter was already being delivered to pilot customers in warehousing and logistics. The company planned to use the capital to accelerate commercialization and expand its team.
Source - 2022-06-21 - Product Launch - Robust.AI unveils Carter collaborative mobile-robot concept
Carter combined autonomous navigation with direct worker interaction through a force-sensitive handlebar. The concept was designed to support warehouse transport and picking workflows while working alongside people. Robust.AI presented Carter with Grace, its software suite for building and operating collaborative robots.
Source
Relations
Relationships
- Aptiv
Perception And Compute Partner - Robust.AI and Aptiv co-develop perception and compute architecture for Carter collaborative robots.
- ShipLab
Pilot Customer - ShipLab began a staged Carter pilot at its Vista fulfilment facility.
- Saddle Creek Logistics Services
Customer Deployment - Saddle Creek deployed Carter robots in its Charlotte fulfilment operation.
- DHL Supply Chain
Warehouse AMR Partnership - DHL partners with Robust.AI on warehouse AMRs
- O'Neill Logistics
Warehouse Robot Customer - O'Neill Logistics agreed to deploy 24 Carter robots at New Jersey and Georgia distribution centres.
Context
Context tags
- Warehouse AMR builder - Peer Group - Robust AI builds Carter collaborative mobile robots for warehouse and fulfilment material movement: https://www.robust.ai/
- Autonomous Mobile Robot Builder - Stack Layer - Profile QA supports Autonomous Mobile Robot Builder.
- Warehouse Automation - Customer Environment - Profile QA supports Warehouse Automation.
Commercial
- O'Neill Logistics orders 24 Robust.AI Carter robots
2026-07-28 · Order / contract · O'Neill Logistics agreed to deploy 24 Carter collaborative mobile robots across distribution centres in Monroe, New Jersey, and Savannah, Georgia, with go-live planned for Q4 2026.
Source