I’ve seen a lot of pitches in my day. As an angel investor with over 200 startups in my portfolio, including some names you might recognize like Anthropic and OpenAI, I get a front-row seat to the future. And right now, everyone is talking about humanoid robots.
They see the slick demo videos from companies like Figure and Tesla, and they imagine a world where robots are stocking shelves, assembling products, and maybe even folding their laundry. The hype is palpable. And for the most part, it’s completely misguided.
Founders are flocking to build the next great humanoid robot company, thinking they’re on the cusp of a revolution. They’re not. They’re about five to ten years too early, and they’re looking at the wrong applications.
The Humanoid Hype Machine is Overheating
Let’s be clear: the engineering behind these robots is incredible. What Boston Dynamics and others have achieved is nothing short of miraculous. But a cool demo is a long way from a viable business. The reality is that our world, the one built for soft, fleshy humans, is a nightmare for rigid, metallic robots.
Think about it. We have uneven floors, cluttered hallways, and oddly shaped objects. We’re messy. A robot that can walk on two legs is impressive, but can it navigate the controlled chaos of a real-world factory or warehouse? Not yet. Not even close.
I remember back in the early days of RemoteTeam, we were trying to automate some basic office tasks. We thought, “Hey, let’s get a robot to deliver mail!” It seemed simple enough. But the robot couldn’t handle the slightly raised lip of the elevator. It got stuck. Every. Single. Time. We spent more time debugging the robot than it would have taken to just deliver the mail ourselves. That’s the reality of robotics today.
Founders are underestimating the “last mile” problem of robotics. It’s not about getting the robot to do the task 90% of the time. It’s about getting it to do it 99.999% of the time, without fail, in any environment. And that’s a problem that’s still years away from being solved.
Where the Real Action Is: Surgical and Drone AI
So if humanoids aren’t the answer, what is? Where should founders be looking? The answer is simple: specialized robotics in controlled environments. I’m talking about surgical robots and drone AI.
The Operating Room: A Robot’s Paradise
Unlike a chaotic warehouse, an operating room is a highly structured and predictable environment. Everything is in its place. The lighting is perfect. The patient is stationary. It’s a robot’s dream.
Surgical robots like the da Vinci system have been around for years, and they’re only getting better. They’re not replacing surgeons, they’re augmenting them. They’re giving surgeons superhuman precision, allowing them to make smaller incisions, reduce blood loss, and speed up recovery times.
I have an investment in a company that’s developing a next-generation surgical robot. They’re using AI to analyze thousands of surgical videos and identify best practices. The robot can then guide the surgeon’s hand, preventing them from making common mistakes. It’s like having the world’s best surgeon looking over your shoulder, on every single procedure.
This is where the real value is. Not in trying to build a robot that can do everything, but in building a robot that can do one thing, one very important thing, better than any human ever could.
Drones: The Eyes in the Sky
The other area where I’m seeing massive potential is in drone AI. Drones are already being used for everything from agriculture to real estate photography. But the real revolution is in the software that powers them.
Think about a farmer who needs to inspect their crops. In the past, they would have to walk the fields, a process that could take days. Now, they can send up a drone that can survey the entire farm in a matter of hours. But it’s not just about the images. It’s about the AI that can analyze those images and identify problems that the human eye would miss.
The drone can spot early signs of disease, identify areas that need more water, and even count the number of plants in a field. This is data that farmers have never had before. It’s allowing them to make better decisions, increase yields, and reduce their environmental impact.
I’m an advisor to a startup that’s using drones to inspect wind turbines. In the past, this was a dangerous and time-consuming job that required a team of technicians to rappel down the blades. Now, a drone can do the same job in a fraction of the time, with no risk to human life. The AI can detect microscopic cracks and defects that a human would never see, preventing catastrophic failures before they happen.
The Future is Specialized, Not Generalized
Look, I get the appeal of humanoid robots. It’s a sci-fi dream come to life. But as an investor, I’m not in the business of funding dreams. I’m in the business of funding businesses. And right now, the business is in specialized robotics.
So to all the founders out there who are thinking about building a humanoid robot, I have one piece of advice: don’t. At least not yet. Instead, find a niche. Find a problem that can be solved with a specialized robot in a controlled environment. That’s where you’ll find your first customers. That’s where you’ll build a real business.
The humanoid revolution will come, eventually. But it’s not going to be a single, monolithic event. It’s going to be a slow, gradual process of specialization and refinement. And the founders who understand that are the ones who are going to be the big winners in the long run.
I’ve seen this movie before. With MovieLaLa, we didn’t try to build a platform that did everything for movie lovers. We focused on one thing: helping people discover new movies. We did that one thing better than anyone else, and that’s why we were acquired by Gfycat.
So, what’s your one thing? What’s the one problem you can solve with a robot, better than anyone else? Find that, and you’ll be on your way to building a successful company. Forget the humanoid hype. The future of robotics is specialized.
Frequently Asked Questions
What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.
How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.