Physicl raises $10M to make the digital world real enough for robots

The cost of training robots on specific, difficult tasks falls dramatically, enabling more capable robots to be deployed sooner.

Physicl, a new venture founded by Alex de Vigan, has secured $10 million in seed funding led by Inovia Capital. The company aims to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds, enabling robots to better interact with and manipulate real-world objects. De Vigan's previous company, nfinite, specialized in creating high-fidelity 3D product renderings for e-commerce. Physicl repurposes this technology to build realistic simulations for training AI models used in robotics. Researchers have struggled with the limitations of training robots on video data and the high costs of real-world data collection. Physicl's platform, called Studio, provides 10,000 3D environments and 100,000 assets to generate synthetic data for training robots, particularly focusing on edge cases and complex object interactions. Early collaborator SpAItial has used Physicl's technology to enhance its own 3D simulation products.

Physicl's approach signals a significant step toward making AI models more robust by addressing the critical need for high-fidelity simulation data. The company's ability to generate synthetic data on-the-fly, tailored to specific training needs, could accelerate the development and deployment of robots capable of handling complex, real-world scenarios.

This advancement is particularly relevant for robotics startups and researchers who have been hampered by the expense and limitations of current data acquisition methods. By offering a more efficient and scalable solution for generating diverse training data, Physicl is poised to become a key enabler in the competitive landscape of physical AI development.