4 ms·

Really?! Only $1B for a real company with unique and futuristic products? When I look at the valuations of some Internet companies - it is sad!

the-pigeon 6y ago
That's just software versus hardware. If you have a solid software platform you can scale it up to millions of users at very little operation cost per user. But a robot? You have a very significant cost per unit. Not to mention lots of risk if you have any warranties and for your brand. Like if you ship 100k units and they have a critical component that gives out after 2 months due to a bad manufacturing run that's a huge cost. You don't have that type of risk with software. Software is just way less risky and way more profitable.
- Triv888 6y ago
  Then you have Tesla....
  - filoleg 6y ago
    I don't remember Tesla having massive recalls, especially compared to other car manufacturers that had tons of those over the past years.
    - Triv888 6y ago
      This wasnt about recalls (although there was some), it was about valuation of hardware VS software companies...
robotresearcher 6y ago
> with unique and futuristic products ... that hasn't found a scalable business model in 28 years of operation. Hence the low valuation despite great tech. I seriously admire their work and it's great that they've been able to fund it in various ways when almost all the robot businesses come and go quickly. They've been able to grind away at very hard problems. But so far no scalable product. I hope they (and the mobile robot business in general) finds some more killer apps after weapons, vacuums, warehousing and (almost) cars. They seem to come along pretty slowly.
ASalazarMX 6y ago
Boston Robotics should have stated that his goal was making an autonomous robot that delivers food to your dinner table, and takes professional pictures of the food for Instagram. Seriously, I can't understand why a company developing advanced products that will have civil and military uses was valued so low. Is it struggling with money? Did their progress stall?
- nikolay 6y ago
  Yes! I thought most of their funding came from DARPA. Now, a company funded with taxpayer money is becoming part of a foreign megacorp. Of course, this is nothing new under the sun, but is it fair to the US taxpayer?

the-pigeon 6y ago

That's just software versus hardware. If you have a solid software platform you can scale it up to millions of users at very little operation cost per user. But a robot? You have a very significant cost per unit. Not to mention lots of risk if you have any warranties and for your brand. Like if you ship 100k units and they have a critical component that gives out after 2 months due to a bad manufacturing run that's a huge cost. You don't have that type of risk with software. Software is just way less risky and way more profitable.

Triv888 6y ago
Then you have Tesla....
- filoleg 6y ago
  I don't remember Tesla having massive recalls, especially compared to other car manufacturers that had tons of those over the past years.
  - Triv888 6y ago
    This wasnt about recalls (although there was some), it was about valuation of hardware VS software companies...

robotresearcher 6y ago

> with unique and futuristic products ... that hasn't found a scalable business model in 28 years of operation. Hence the low valuation despite great tech. I seriously admire their work and it's great that they've been able to fund it in various ways when almost all the robot businesses come and go quickly. They've been able to grind away at very hard problems. But so far no scalable product. I hope they (and the mobile robot business in general) finds some more killer apps after weapons, vacuums, warehousing and (almost) cars. They seem to come along pretty slowly.

ASalazarMX 6y ago

Boston Robotics should have stated that his goal was making an autonomous robot that delivers food to your dinner table, and takes professional pictures of the food for Instagram. Seriously, I can't understand why a company developing advanced products that will have civil and military uses was valued so low. Is it struggling with money? Did their progress stall?

nikolay 6y ago
Yes! I thought most of their funding came from DARPA. Now, a company funded with taxpayer money is becoming part of a foreign megacorp. Of course, this is nothing new under the sun, but is it fair to the US taxpayer?