This week's featured guest on the show is Jamie Lee, Managing Partner of Tamarack Global. Tamarack Global came onto our radar last month as one of the investors who participated in Figure AI's recent Series B funding round. After meeting Jamie Lee to research these news articles, we invited Jamie on our podcast to talk about his investment theory, humanoids, figure AI, and in particular figure CEO and founder Brett Adcock. shared why they are so bullish about.
At the heart of Tamarack's investment philosophy is investing in strong leaders who hire strong teams and build solutions for very large markets. But you'll also learn about Jamie's practical philosophy for evaluating proposals, and some of the red flags he looks for when evaluating potential investments.
New items from this week
Viam raises $45 million in Series B funding
After all the news last year, Viam has been quiet, but Viam is building a modular, interoperable, open source software platform that runs on any hardware and any fleet of machines. Viam said the funding will enable it to accelerate partnerships, drive commercial innovation and further develop the platform.
Accenture announces investment in Sanctuary AI
Sanctuary builds humanoids with embodied AI, with a constant focus on hand-eye coordination and manipulation of the bipedal aspect of humanoid robots. The investment in Sanctuary is Accenture's latest move to build out its robotics strategy. In January 2024, Accenture and Mujin established a joint venture to support the introduction of robots into the manufacturing and logistics industries. The new venture, called Accenture Alpha Automation, is 70% owned by Accenture and 30% owned by Mujin. The new company, called Accenture Alpha Automation, combines Mujin's industrial robotics expertise with Accenture's digital engineering and manufacturing services, Industry X.
Sanctuary has released a series of videos on YouTube of its robots “doing things.” These videos show the development process of the two-armed humanoid and the AI behind the robot's decision-making.
Sanctuary Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@sanctuaryai
New York City takes steps to allow robotaxis in New York City
New York City took the first step toward permitting robotaxis in the city this week, announcing new safety requirements and permitting guidelines for companies looking to test autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Despite the city's renewed interest in testing, commercializing AVs in New York City is difficult. New York is one of the most difficult cities for AVs to navigate due to its pedestrian-filled streets, unpredictable vehicle traffic, and bright lighting that obstructs sensors.
