TRI's selection of Intuition Robotics demonstrates emergence of social robotics category and its relevance for older adults

RAMAT GAN, Israel, July 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intuition Robotics, developer of social companion technologies for positive social impact, announced a $14M A-round investment today led by the Toyota Research Institute (TRI). TRI joins early A-round investors OurCrowd and iRobot as well as existing seed investors Maniv Mobility, Terra Venture Partners, Bloomberg Beta, and additional private investors who participated in the round.

The investment in Intuition Robotics marks TRI's first outside investment in robotic technology specifically for older adults. Toyota is regarded as one of the leading companies in home/human-assist robotics research, and the move, according to Dor Skuler, CEO and Co-Founder of Intuition Robotics, underscores the shared vision between the two companies.

"We are honored that TRI believes in our approach to help older adults stay connected and engaged through our first product, ElliQ, the active aging companion," said Skuler, "This strategic investment illustrates our joint beliefs in the potential of social robotics in keeping older adults connected and engaged and in overcoming the digital divide using cognitive computing and natural communications."

Dr. Gill Pratt, CEO of Toyota Research Institute said: "We are impressed with Intuition Robotics' thought leadership of a multi-disciplinary approach towards a compelling product offering for older adults including: Human-Robot-Interaction, cloud robotics, machine learning and design. Specifically, we believe Intuition Robotics' technology, in the field of cognitive computing, has strong potential to positively impact the world's aging population with a proactive, truly autonomous agent that's deployed in their social robot, ElliQ."

Intuition Robotics' active aging companion, ElliQ, is currently being tested and developed to proactively promote an active and engaged lifestyle, with the goal of helping older adults benefit from technology that's intuitive and easy to use.

About Intuition Robotics

Intuition Robotics™ is developing social companion technology to positively impact the lives of millions of older adults by connecting them seamlessly with family and friends, making technology accessible and intuitive, and proactively promoting an active lifestyle. The company was founded by former corporate executives and entrepreneurs who previously founded and managed CloudBand, a disruptive cloud telecom venture within Alcatel-Lucent. The founders created Intuition Robotics to pursue their passion for creating technology and products to improve people's quality of life.

The company's multidisciplinary team of roboticists, industrial designers, full stack developers, Android developers, gerontologists, and machine learning experts, is currently developing Elli•Q, the Active Aging Companion. Helping the company achieve its vision are iconic thinkers in the realms of industrial design and user-centered design, including famed designer Yves Béhar, former VP of Advanced Technologies at Apple Prof. Don Norman, along with Intel SVP Amir Faintuch, and leading academic experts in the fields of Cognitive Computing, HRI, Machine Intelligence, and Robotics. For more information, visit www.intuitionrobotics.com; www.elliq.com