Engineered Arts Ltd. thinks everyone should be friends with a robot, and it has just raised $10 million to help make that a reality.

The U.K.-founded humanoid robotics startup today announced that it has restructured as a U.S. entity and raised $10 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate product refinement, manufacturing readiness, scale up production and invest in advanced business systems. With the new funding, it’s hoping to cash in on a gusher of interest in robotics. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates that the humanoid robotic market could reach $38 billion by 2035.

Founded in 2004, Engineered Arts is a designer and manufacturer of humanoid robots, specializing in creating lifelike machines for entertainment, education and business applications. The company’s robots are engineered to engage audiences through natural interactions, making them suitable for science centers, theme parks and corporate events, including The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Its most advanced humanoid, called Ameca, is on exhibit at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh, Scotland, and at the center of a chatbot exhibit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC uses them at trade shows, and an Ameca demonstration video has been viewed more than 2.3 million times on YouTube.

Engineered Arts’ flagship product, RoboThespian (pictured), is a full-sized humanoid robot designed for human interaction in public environments. The robot has been installed in venues worldwide, including NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Copernicus Science Centre in Poland.

Engineered Arts also offers Mesmer, a humanoid robot capable of imitating the appearance and expressions of individuals. Using 3D scans of human models, Mesmer accurately replicates human bone structure, skin texture and emotions to provide realistic and engaging interactions.

In total, Engineered Arts has developed six distinct humanoid robotic models that have been deployed to more than 200 locations worldwide. The robots have built-in voice and image recognition and can converse in multiple languages. Engineered Arts is reportedly testing GPT4, the latest generative AI model from OpenAI LLC.

“We envision a world where the virtual seamlessly integrates into everyday life,” said Chief Executive Will Jackson. “Our robots are designed to support, entertain, inform and educate — providing a genuinely human-centric vision of AI-driven technology.”

Helium-3 Ventures led the latest funding, with AppDirect Inc. Chairman and CEO Nicolas Desmarais, Belvoir Investments and a consortium of investors, including ThirtySeven Holdings Inc. and Figueira Capital, also participating. Matt Bellamy, the frontman of the English rock band Muse and a partner in Helium-3 Ventures, will join Engineered Arts’ board as an observer.

The new funding will enable Engineered Arts to make its humanoid robots more accessible, launch a virtual robot character platform and expand its cloud-based AI services for improved functionality and fleet deployment.

The company also aims to enhance dexterity and locomotion, advancing robots toward everyday practical use. To support its growth, Engineered Arts plans to hire about 20 employees at its Redwood City location, including executives, sales, software, assembly and support engineers.

Photo: Engineered Arts