Good morning, robotics enthusiasts. Amazon-backed robotics startup Skild just dropped a universal robot brain designed to turn every machine into part of a global learning hive.

Skild says the model works on any type of robot, and as one robot learns, the knowledge syncs across the global fleet in real time. It’s not just machine learning anymore; it’s collective machine intelligence.

In today’s robotics rundown:

• Skild’s general-purpose robot brain

• ByteDance unveils home robot model

• Mushroom-picking bots raise $29M

• Human-free wind farm run by robots

• Quick hits on other robotics news

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

SKILD AI

🧠 Skild’s general-purpose robot brain

Image source: Skild AI/YouTube

The Rundown: Skild AI, a robotics startup backed by Amazon and Softbank, just unveiled a universal “Skild Brain” that unifies robots of every kind into a single learning network — so every robot’s real-world experience fuels instant collective intelligence.

The details:

• Skild Brain is designed to power a wide range of machines, from warehouse humanoids to surgical robot arms, and enable real-time collective learning.

• It’s pre-trained at scale with simulated environments, human-action videos, and further refined by real-world data gathered from every robot it operates.

• The core system is built on a distributed neural infrastructure, creating a kind of “hive mind” for robots, and is made for continuous updates and scalability.

• Demos show Skild Brain enabling robots to climb stairs, maintain balance after being pushed, pick up objects in cluttered spaces, and load dishwashers.

Why it matters: Skild stands out by turning every deployed robot into a contributor to a global learning loop, something neither Genesis nor Physical Intelligence has yet operationalized at scale. This collective “shared brain” approach could accelerate robotic intelligence dramatically, breaking through the traditional data bottlenecks.

TOGETHER WITH SANA

💡 The most powerful way to bring AI to your company

The Rundown: Other AIs search and answer. Sana Agents delivers real, finished work — allowing you to draft reports, build presentations, analyze data, and handle emails all from one place.

With Sana Agents, you can:

• Build specialized agents for every department in one intuitive interface

• Connect to 100+ platforms — including Slack, Teams, and your CRM

• Generate, edit, and export content in seconds

• Ensure enterprise-grade security with zero data leakage

Slash operational overhead by 10-20X with Sana Agents today.

BYTEDANCE

🧹 ByteDance unveils home robot model

Image source: ByteDance

The Rundown: TikTok parent ByteDance is getting into the domestic robotics game with a new household system that puts AI-powered bots to work on everyday chores such as folding laundry and clearing tables.

The details:

• At the core, the household system uses ByteDance’s GR-3 model, a vision-language-action system enabling robots to perform complex tasks.

• In tests, ByteDance’s GR-3-powered ByteMini robot fluidly hung shirts, sorted plates, and cleaned messy dining tables, all from natural language prompts.

• The system can also improvise, distinguish objects by size, and handle entirely new kinds of items, even when those items weren’t seen during training. 

• The robots learn by combining imitation learning with reinforcement learning from trial and error, using huge datasets to boost their dexterity and reliability.

Why it matters: ByteDance has churned out over 1K autonomous industrial robots in two years, but GR-3 marks its first foray into the domestic market. Launched under its AI-focused Seed division, the move comes amid U.S. scrutiny of TikTok. So, entering the domestic robotics space isn’t just innovation, it’s strategy.

4AG ROBOTICS

🍄 Mushroom-picking bots raise $29M

Image source: 4AG Robotics

The Rundown: A tech revolution is quietly sprouting in the mushroom houses of British Columbia. 4AG Robotics, based in the rural city of Salmon Arm, just raised $29M to accelerate the global rollout of its autonomous mushroom-harvesting robots. 

The details:

• 4AG’s robots use advanced computer vision to spot mushrooms at the optimal stage for picking, then deploy “suction grippers” to harvest and package them.

• This tech is aimed at challenges facing mushroom farmers: harvesting is physically demanding and accounts for up to half of total production costs.

• Mushrooms are tricky to pick, given that they are delicate and can bruise easily, but 4AG’s systems are designed to work without damaging the crop.

• The system can also be retrofitted into existing infrastructure, which 4AG says gives small growers a way to boost yields and cut labor costs.

Why it matters: 4AG has transformed from persuading skeptical farmers to trial its invention into a manufacturer with deposits for over 40 additional robots and $8M in sales. With 70 employees and fresh capital, the startup is betting that AI-powered robots can outpick, outpace, and outsmart the old ways of handling fungi.

ROBOTICS INNOVATIONS

💨 Human-free wind farm run by robots

Image source: Goldwind

The Rundown: At the windswept Ningxia Tongli Third Wind Farm in China, the era of the unmanned wind farm has arrived. The 70MW facility runs entirely by robot dogs patrolling the perimeter, with no human setting foot on site in almost a year.

The details:

• DEEP Robotics’ X30 dogs patrol the facility, conducting visual, thermal, and acoustic inspections, detecting any faults or anomalies.

• The site employs nearly 300 smart cameras, fixed sensors, autonomous robots, and inspection drones as part of an interconnected monitoring system.

• The digital operations network covers over 5K designated inspection points, automating routine checks, on-the-spot diagnostics, and minor interventions.

• Drones also supplement ground inspections by providing aerial views of blades, towers, and hard-to-access infrastructure.

Why it matters: Here, robot dogs and drones aren’t just watching but predicting failures, triggering repairs, and keeping wind farms running before anything breaks. This pilot project, which has been running human-free since last September, is possibly the start of autonomous clean energy, built for some of the harshest places on Earth.

QUICK HITS

📰 Everything else in robotics today

Figure released a video on X showing its Figure 02 humanoid completing a full cycle of laundry without human intervention at CEO Brett Adcock’s home.

Video-generating AI companies Luma and Runway are reportedly now looking at robotics and self-driving car companies as the next big revenue driver.   

Shanghai Electric unveiled its first self-developed industrial humanoid, SUYUAN, featuring advanced dexterity and on-device AI.

JP Morgan reports that U.S. capital investment in robotics startups is on the rise, up from $7B in 2020 to more than $12B in 2024.

New research shows a novel method for flying small drones through air ducts as narrow as 35 cm, paving the way for robotic inspection in extremely confined spaces.

Dnsys launched a Kickstarter campaign for a knee exoskeleton that it says offers a 50% boost in the wearer’s leg strength while reducing pressure by 200%.

Adam, a keytar-playing humanoid developed by PNDbotics, recently captured attention by performing live at China’s VOYAGEX Music Festival with Hu Yutong’s band.

Nextracker, the makers of intelligent solar trackers that optimize the positioning of solar panels to follow the sun, reported a revenue of $864M in the last quarter.

COMMUNITY

🎥 Join our next live workshop

Join our next workshop this Friday, August 1, at 4 PM EST with Dr. Alvaro Cintas, The Rundown’s AI professor. By the end of this workshop, you’ll have practical strategies to get the AI to do exactly what you want.

RSVP here. Not a member? Join The Rundown University on a 14-day free trial.

See you soon,

Rowan, Jennifer, and Joey—The Rundown’s editorial team