Fauna Robotics
Category: Robotics / Embodied AI
Fauna Robotics builds Sprout, a developer-first, approachable humanoid robot platform designed for safe operation in human-centric spaces like homes, schools, retail, and entertainment venues. Fauna Robotics was founded in 2024. The company is led by Rob Cochran. Based in New York City, New York, United States. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $30M. Latest round: Seed. Key investors include Kleiner Perkins, Quiet Capital, Lux Capital, Bluebirds Capital, Terrain.
- Founded
- 2024
- Headquarters
- New York City, New York, United States
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $30M
Value proposition
A safe, approachable, developer-ready humanoid platform that ships with baseline locomotion, navigation, and autonomy out of the box — enabling developers to build embodied AI applications in minutes rather than months, without needing to reinvent core robotics infrastructure.
Products and solutions
Sprout Creator Edition — a 42-inch (107 cm), 50 lb (22.7 kg) bipedal humanoid robot platform priced at $50,000. Features: NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin (64GB) compute, 29 degrees of freedom, ZED 2i stereo camera, 4x ToF sensors, 4x microphone array, IMU, articulated eyebrows + 360° LED facial display, swappable battery (3-3.5 hrs), open SDK with ROS 2 support, full-body teleoperation via Meta Quest (Embody app), out-of-the-box locomotion (walk, crawl, kneel, sit, jump, dance), autonomous navigation and mapping.
Unique value
Sprout is the only humanoid robot purpose-built for shared human spaces: lightweight (50 lbs), soft-bodied, compliant control, and emotionally expressive — designed to be safe around children, pets, and adults, unlike heavy industrial humanoids. Developer-first open SDK with ROS 2, containerized services, and full-body teleoperation.
Target customer
Research labs, corporate R&D groups, universities, entertainment operators (theme parks, attractions), retail enterprises, and commercial developers building embodied AI applications for human-facing environments.
Industries served
Entertainment (theme parks, attractions), Retail, Education & Research (universities), Home services, Corporate R&D
Technology advantage
Vertically integrated hardware+software platform designed and assembled in the US (NYC). Safety-first design philosophy (low kinetic energy, compliant motor control, soft exterior, active ToF sensing). Modular AI architecture allowing teams to use their own models. NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin compute. 29 DoF with expressive face (articulated eyebrows + LED). Full-body teleoperation via VR headset. ROS 2 + containerized service architecture. Early customer validation from Disney and Boston Dynamics.
How they differentiate
Unlike competitors building large industrial humanoids (Tesla Optimus at 5'8", Figure AI, Apptronik), Fauna's Sprout is intentionally small (3'6", 50 lbs), soft-bodied, and designed for safe human interaction. Developer-first platform with open SDK vs. closed industrial systems. Emotionally expressive design (eyebrows, LED face) for approachability. US-based design and manufacturing.
Main competitors
Unitree (G1 humanoid, ~$13,800, lower-cost developer platform), Figure AI (full-size industrial humanoid), Tesla Optimus (full-size consumer/industrial humanoid), 1X Technologies (humanoid for home), Agility Robotics (Digit, logistics-focused), Pollen Robotics (Reachy 2, open-source platform backed by Hugging Face)
Key partnerships
NVIDIA (Jetson AGX Orin compute platform), Disney (early customer), Boston Dynamics / Hyundai (early customer), UC San Diego (research customer), NYU (research customer)
Notable customers
Disney, Boston Dynamics (Hyundai), UC San Diego, NYU
Major milestones
Feb 2024: Company founded in NYC by Rob Cochran and Josh Merel, Feb 2025: $16.6M seed funding filed (SEC Form D), Apr 2025: $30M seed round closed (led by Kleiner Perkins with Quiet Capital and Lux Capital), Jan 27, 2026: Sprout launched out of stealth as Creator Edition ($50K, shipping to customers including Disney and Boston Dynamics), Mar 24, 2026: Acquired by Amazon (operating as Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company, ~50 employees joining Amazon's Personal Robotics Group in NYC)
Growth metrics
~50 employees at acquisition; 914+ LinkedIn followers; Early customer base including Disney, Boston Dynamics, UC San Diego, NYU; Acquired by Amazon ~2 years after founding
Market positioning
Positioned as the safe, approachable alternative to industrial humanoids. Competes on safety, developer experience, and human-centric design rather than payload capacity or industrial throughput. Targets the emerging consumer/retail/entertainment humanoid market segment projected at $38B by 2035 (Goldman Sachs).
Geographic focus
United States (primary), with global competition from China (Unitree), Norway (1X), and France (Pollen Robotics)
About Rob Cochran
Ex-Goldman Sachs (Chief Product Officer, Engineering Division); Ex-Facebook/Meta (Head of Product, CTRL-labs, acquired by Meta in 2019); Ex-Amazon Web Services; MBA from Harvard Business School (2014-2016); BS from University of Virginia (2008-2012)
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Official website: https://faunarobotics.com