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Enigma

Category: Robotics / Embodied AI

Enigma is a physical AI company building foundation models and intuitive interfaces for robotics, emerging from stealth with a $70M+ seed round to launch the world's first interactive AI robotics experience. Enigma was founded in 2025. The company is led by Jonathan Jacobi. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel (with operations in California). Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $71M. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Conviction Partners (Sarah Guo).

AMW Analysis

Enigma, a physical AI startup emerging from stealth in 2025, builds foundation models and intuitive interfaces for robotics, positioning itself as an intelligence layer for general-purpose robot control. The company raised a $71 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with participation from Conviction Partners and angel investors affiliated with Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and OpenAI.

Recent news flow centers on this funding and the simultaneous launch of a public online experiment that allows anyone to interact with robots, designed to study human-robot interaction at scale. This initiative—a large-scale online experiment—indicates Enigma’s focus on collecting real-world interaction data to inform its models. The company’s approach combines foundation model development with novel interfaces aimed at making robot control as simple as adjusting a volume knob. With operations in Tel Aviv and California, Enigma is pursuing a research-to-product trajectory that emphasizes broad, accessible experimentation alongside core model building.

AMW analysis, generated from 2 tracked news signals.

Founded
2025
Headquarters
Tel Aviv, Israel (with operations in California)
Team size
11-50
Total funding
$71M

Value proposition

Building the intelligence layer for robotics through breakthrough AI models and novel human-robot interfaces, making robots as intuitive to control as adjusting a volume knob

Products and solutions

Proprietary AI foundation models for robotics, novel human-robot interfaces, 100+ proprietary AI robots housed in hangars in Israel and California, public interactive AI robotics platform at robots.online, robot-agnostic software layer for deploying intelligence across different hardware

Unique value

Inverts the typical capability-first approach to embodied AI by studying how humans intuitively control robots first, then building models and interfaces around those interaction patterns — rather than starting with robot capabilities and forcing humans to adapt

Target customer

Enterprises in healthcare, logistics, entertainment, and retail; robotics companies needing AI foundation models; researchers studying human-robot interaction

Industries served

Healthcare, Logistics, Entertainment, Retail

Technology advantage

Developed proprietary robotic arms and underlying AI models entirely from scratch; more efficient training methodologies lowering requirements for massive manual data collection; robot-agnostic software that adapts across different hardware; novel user interfaces built from real human interaction data; team of elite researchers from top AI labs, math Olympiad winners, and PhD dropouts

How they differentiate

Unlike competitors (Physical Intelligence, Skild AI, Covariant) who focus on model capabilities first, Enigma starts from human experience and interaction design — studying how untrained humans naturally want to communicate with robots, then building models and interfaces around those patterns. Founders are outsiders to robotics (cybersecurity background), bringing fresh perspective. Public experiment with 100+ real robots online is unique in the industry.

Main competitors

Physical Intelligence (π0), Skild AI, Covariant

Key partnerships

Partners in healthcare, logistics, and entertainment (specific companies not disclosed), working with partners in entertainment, retail, and health sectors

Notable customers

Not disclosed (company is pre-revenue, pre-product, emerging from stealth)

Major milestones

Founded in 2025 by Jonathan Jacobi and Gal Niv, emerged from stealth July 2026 with $71M seed round, launched world's first public interactive AI robotics experience at robots.online with 100+ proprietary AI robots, built proprietary robotic arms and AI models from scratch in under 11 months

Growth metrics

Pre-revenue; pre-product; launched public experiment July 2026

Market positioning

Early-stage research lab positioning itself as the "intelligence layer for robotics" — a software-first approach that aims to be model- and hardware-agnostic, competing with foundation model builders like Physical Intelligence (π0) and Skild AI while differentiating on human-interface-first methodology

Geographic focus

Global (headquarters in Israel with operations in California)

About Jonathan Jacobi

Ex-Microsoft (youngest-ever employee, recruited by Wiz founder Assaf Rappaport); Ex-Check Point (Vulnerability Researcher at 17); Ex-Unit 8200 (Deputy Head of Research Section); Ex-Dazz (CTO Office); Ex-Wiz (CTO Office). B.Sc. Computer Science & Mathematics at age 13, Magna Cum Laude. Co-founder of #1 CTF team Perfect Blue.

Latest news about Enigma

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