Orangewood Aims to Bring Robotic Arms to the Hungry Masses

Startup raises $4.5M, launches RoboGPT

Orangewood Labs, a San Francisco-based startup, is aiming to make robotic arms more accessible to small businesses and solo tinkerers alike. Co-founded by entrepreneurs Abhinav Das, Aditya Bhatia, and Akash Bansal in 2017, Orangewood initially focused on automating time-consuming tasks such as painting and sanding furniture. The founders identified these steps as costly and challenging to automate with traditional robotics, fueling the development of their own remotely operated robotic arm. The startup just announced it raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by Y Combinator, with contributions from 7percent Ventures, Schox Ventures, VentureSouq, KSK Angel Fund, and various angel investors.

Orangewood’s innovative approach lies in the broad programmability of its robots. The company developed RoboGPT, a unique platform enabling users to program the robotic arm using either text or voice commands. This feature opens the doors to a wider range of users, from robotics experts to factory floor workers. Designed to adapt to changing circumstances and conditions, RoboGPT continuously learns from its environment, accommodating for various edge cases. This makes Orangewood's robotic arms an attractive, flexible solution for small to medium-sized businesses.

With the launch of RoboGPT, Orangewood is moving its robotic arms beyond furniture construction. The company has released some videos teasing its applicability in the food and beverage industry. Despite being in a competitive field, Orangewood has managed to deploy its robotic arm in 500 locations and plans to increase its full-time and contract workforce by 20% by the end of the year. The startup has secured a committed and booked revenue of $750,000 and is currently in the process of securing another equity raise between $6 million and $7 million to meet the backorder of robots, expand its manufacturing facilities, and build a service and spare parts network. Given the startup’s low price point and easy programmability, expect to see these arms working their way into a drink making or food cooking robot near you.