How much funding has Hello Robot raised?

Hello Robot has raised $2.76M in total funding. Their latest funding round was Grant. Key investors include Gen 1 Capital, National Institute on Aging (NIH), National Institutes of Health.

Where is Hello Robot headquartered?

Hello Robot is headquartered in Martinez, California, USA. The company has a team of 11-50 people.

What does Hello Robot do?

Hello Robot operates in the Robotics / Embodied AI sector. Hello Robot builds the Stretch mobile manipulator — an open, friendly, wheeled robot designed for real-world home assistance, research, and enterprise deployments. A practical, safe, and affordable mobile manipulator that works in real homes today — prioritizing human-in-the-loop control, safety, and real-world deployment over humanoid hype.

When was Hello Robot founded?

Hello Robot was founded in 2017. It is based in Martinez, California, USA.

Who is the CEO of Hello Robot?

Aaron Edsinger is the CEO of Hello Robot. The company was founded in 2017.

Where is Hello Robot located?

Hello Robot is headquartered in Martinez, California, USA.

What funding stage is Hello Robot at?

Hello Robot is currently at the Growth Stage stage.

How many employees does Hello Robot have?

Hello Robot has approximately 11-50 employees.

Hello Robot

Category: Robotics / Embodied AI

Hello Robot builds the Stretch mobile manipulator — an open, friendly, wheeled robot designed for real-world home assistance, research, and enterprise deployments. Hello Robot was founded in 2017. The company is led by Aaron Edsinger. Based in Martinez, California, USA. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $2.76M. Latest round: Grant. Key investors include Gen 1 Capital, National Institute on Aging (NIH), National Institutes of Health.

Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Martinez, California, USA
Team size: 11-50
Total funding: $2.76M

Value proposition

A practical, safe, and affordable mobile manipulator that works in real homes today — prioritizing human-in-the-loop control, safety, and real-world deployment over humanoid hype.

Products and solutions

Stretch 4 (mobile manipulator, $29,950), Stretch 3 (previous generation), Stretch Assist Pilot (assistive technology program for mobility-impaired users), Enterprise partnership program, Open-source ROS 2 and Python SDK

Unique value

The only practical, shippable-in-a-cardboard-box mobile manipulator designed for real homes — with a sensor-rich safety architecture (Waymo-inspired), human-in-the-loop control as a feature, and a decade of real-world deployment data.

Target customer

AI/robotics researchers; enterprise teams (data centers, logistics); people with severe mobility impairments seeking in-home assistive technology; developers building physical AI applications

Industries served

Assistive technology / healthcare, academic research (robotics, AI), enterprise (data centers, light industrial), home care / aging-in-place

Technology advantage

Omnidirectional wheeled base (adapted from powered wheelchair tech); sensor-rich suite with dual hemispherical lidars + multiple RGB cameras + wrist depth camera; Intel NUC 15 + NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX compute; telescoping arm with 8 DOF; intrinsic safety via low-center-of-gravity design; open-source software stack (ROS 2, Python SDK); 1,000+ users across 23 countries since 2020

How they differentiate

Unlike humanoid-focused competitors (1X, Figure), Hello Robot prioritizes safety, simplicity, and real-world deployment over humanoid form factors. Stretch is available NOW, ships in a box, costs $29,950 vs. humanoid competitors at much higher price points with no deliveries. Human-in-the-loop control is a design feature, not a limitation. Focus on assistive use cases (disability, aging) creates a clear mission-driven market.

Main competitors

1X (humanoid home robot, Neo), The Bot Company (home robot startup), Toyota Research Institute (home robotics research), Boston Dynamics (Stretch warehouse robot — name collision only)

Key partnerships

National Institute on Aging (NIH SBIR Phase I & II grants), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (SBIR research partner), NVIDIA (Jetson Orin NX onboard), Intel (NUC 15 compute), Luxonis (cameras), Georgia Tech (founder's academic lab origin)

Notable customers

NYU (PhD research, CVPR best demo prize winner), UC Berkeley (postdoc research), Georgia Tech, CMU, Henry Evans (Robots for Humanity, assistive user), Keith Platt (quadriplegic assistive user), Georgena (MS patient, Portland assistive user)

Major milestones

2017: Company founded, 2020: Stretch RE1 launched, 2023: Stretch 3 launched, 2023: NIH SBIR Phase II grant ($2.5M), 2025: Stretch 3 wins RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award, 2026-05: Stretch 4 launched ($29,950, omnidirectional base, sensor-rich), 2026-06: TechCrunch feature on home robot deployment

Growth metrics

1,000+ users across 23 countries since 2020; Stretch 4 first production run sold out; 200-300 units planned for manufacturing at Martinez HQ

Market positioning

Pragmatic middle-ground between simple single-purpose robots (Roomba) and complex humanoid robots. Positioned as the "Waymo of home robots" — safety-first, sensor-rich, methodical deployment. Strong in research community (1,000+ users, 23 countries) with growing enterprise and assistive care segments.

Geographic focus

United States (HQ in Martinez, CA; office in Atlanta, GA); global research community (23 countries)

About Aaron Edsinger

Ex-Director of Robotics at Google; Co-founder of Meka Robotics and Redwood Robotics (both acquired by Google in 2013); Ph.D. from MIT CSAIL (2007)

Official website: https://hello-robot.com