Ten Years of Innovation: The Evolution of Formant in Robotics
This December marks a significant milestone: ten years since Bot & Dolly joined several robotics companies acquired by Google during its ambitious robotics expansion. Based in San Francisco, Bot & Dolly gained fame for its groundbreaking special effects in movies like Gravity. However, despite the initial excitement, the anticipated transformation of the industry faced numerous challenges.
After a few years leading robotics initiatives at Google and subsequently at Alphabet X, Bot & Dolly co-founder Jeff Linnell established Formant. Through his experiences, Linnell discovered key insights, stating, “The primary challenge lies not in hardware but in software. Another revelation is that many applications are 95% achievable, and humans often need to bridge that final gap.”
Linnell’s insights were not unique. Since those early days, Google’s approach to robotics has increasingly shifted toward software solutions. Many members of the Everyday Robotics team have integrated into the Google DeepMind project, and Alphabet X has successfully advanced the Intrinsic initiative.
Unlike no-code robotic programming and deployment companies like Intrinsic and Viam, Formant serves as a robust platform for data collection and analysis, particularly regarding the vast amounts of information gathered by on-board sensors.
“In recent years, businesses have understood the value of investing in infrastructure and data platforms. Many lack the expertise to build these solutions themselves, so that’s where we step in,” Linnell explains. “Our focus is on incorporating human intelligence into the management of deployed assets, particularly as these assets scale. Currently, we’re supporting teams with tens of thousands of robots—something that wasn’t possible just three or four years ago.”
Today, Formant has announced a significant $21 million funding round, led by BMW i Ventures, with participation from Intel Capital, GS Futures, SignalFire, Hillsven, Pelion Ventures, Holman, Ericsson, Goodyear Ventures, PICUS Capital, and Thursday Ventures. This funding follows an earlier $18 million Series A round disclosed last January.
The latest funding will accelerate Formant’s go-to-market strategies. The company has successfully targeted underserved sectors such as agriculture, rather than focusing solely on more saturated markets like warehousing and manufacturing (though those areas are also in their sights). Notable clients include Blue River, owned by John Deere, security robotics firm Knightscope, and BP.
“We’re completely hardware agnostic,” Linnell asserts. “Our platform supports a diverse range of robots—flying, underwater, mowing, delivery, quadrupeds, bipeds—the possibilities are endless. To us, they all fall under the same category. Every robot features a Linux computer where users can install our software. So far, we haven’t encountered a robot that we couldn’t effectively integrate with.”
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