OpenMind, a Silicon Valley-based company, is developing OM1, a foundational software layer designed to function as an operating system for humanoid robots, aiming to become the “Android” of robotics with open and hardware-agnostic software.
Founded in 2024 by Stanford professor Jan Liphardt, OpenMind is addressing the need for a new operating system that can “think more like a human,” driven by the increasing development of humanoids for human-to-machine interactions, particularly in domestic settings. Liphardt noted that the world is opening up where machines can interact with humans in unprecedented ways, emphasizing the company’s focus on collaboration between machines and humans. “All of a sudden, this world is opening where machines are able to interact with humans in ways I’ve certainly never before seen,” he said.
OpenMind recently unveiled FABRIC, a protocol enabling robots to verify identity and share context and information with other robots. Liphardt highlighted the potential for rapid learning and information sharing among machines, unlike humans who learn at a slower pace. He cited the example of robots sharing language data to interact with a broader range of people without requiring direct human instruction for each language. “Humans take it for granted that they can interact with any other human on Earth,” Liphardt stated, suggesting that machines will require similar infrastructure for trust, communication, and coordination.
The company is set to ship its initial fleet of 10 OM1-powered robotic dogs by September. Liphardt stressed the importance of deploying the technology and iterating based on user feedback. “We full well expect all the humans that will be hosting these quadrupeds, they’ll come back with a long list of things they didn’t like or they want,” he explained, underscoring OpenMind’s commitment to rapid iteration and improvement.
OpenMind has secured $20 million in a funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Ribbit, Coinbase Ventures, Pebblebed, and various strategic and angel investors. The company’s immediate focus is on deploying its technology in homes to gather feedback. Liphardt concluded, “The most important thing for us is to get robots out there and to get feedback. Our goal as a company is to do as many of these tests as we can, so that we can very rapidly identify the most interesting opportunities where the capabilities of the robots today are optimally matched against what humans are looking for.”
