Welcome to the Playbook

Philosophy, Values, Goals

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Imagine a world where machines think, adapt, and solve problems in ways we once believed only humans could. That world is no longer a distant vision—it’s here. Smart machines, aka robotics, powered by cutting-edge AI, are not just reshaping industries but redefining the very foundation of our global economy. From automating complex tasks to solving critical challenges in manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, climate, housing,  defense and food, robotics is poised to be the most impactful technological advancement of our time with trillions dollar market opportunity.

Building a successful robotics company is more than just an opportunity—it’s a responsibility to drive the next wave of industrial innovation. In this playbook, we’ll guide entrepreneurs through the unique complexities and opportunities of launching and scaling a successful robotics startup. We will also highlight for investors the most critical attributes for evaluating and supporting robotics startups. This Playbook is our effort to set founders up for success, attract more investors into the sector, and ultimately build a common framework and taxonomy for how to build and invest in robotics companies. So buckle up—because the future isn’t just coming; it’s being innovated right now.

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At Cybernetix Ventures we invest in robotics, automation, and industrial AI. Our founding partners have been investing, operating, and building companies in the space for over a combined five decades, and our firm is purpose-built to invest in robotics and its enabling technologies. We have been observing the industry’s notable successes and failures, and are more excited than ever to be investing in early-stage robotics companies. We know how to invest in and scale these companies, but we also know that an entire financing ecosystem needs to be built around this new asset class in order for the promising robotics startups of today to solve humanity’s problems tomorrow.

We acknowledge that this Playbook is just one approach to building and investing in successful robotics companies, and we welcome feedback that will enhance this playbook. While we start at the beginning with the most important considerations for early stage robotics investing and entrepreneurship, most of the challenges and learnings persist through the growth stages, too.

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This Playbook is:

  1. For ENTREPRENEURS who are interested in robotics and want to know the important nuances that could be the difference between success and failure.
  2. For INVESTORS who are interested in robotics and want to understand the critical and unique aspects of robotics as an investment class.
  3. For ALL ECOSYSTEM LEADERS who see the powerful mega-trends of robotics, industrial AI, and automation, and who want to learn the key success factors and common pitfalls.
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This Playbook Is NOT:

  1. NOT an Investing 101, a Product Development 101, or a Marketing and Sales 101 document. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with these general concepts.
  2. NOT exhaustive investing criteria, nor financial guidance.
  3. NOT the one and only way to build or invest in a successful robotics company.
  4. NOT a complete nor perfect guideline. We encourage feedback and dialogue.
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This Playbook is intended to be a simplified and tailored way to consume complex content. We will be releasing chapters over time, each exploring various facets of building and investing in a robotics startup. We hope these insights encourage you to see the investment potential beyond the hype, and the path forward for disruptive, impactful robotics businesses as we all strive to build the next generation of robotics unicorns.

—Fady Saad, Mark Martin, & the Cybernetix Ventures team cybernetix logo

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