Global professional services company Accenture has invested in one of Vancouver’s most interesting technology startups.
Accenture Ventures this week announced investment into Sanctuary AI, a developer of humanoid general-purpose robots powered by AI that can perform a wide variety of work tasks safely and effectively.
Sanctuary AI is the latest company to join Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, a program that connects emerging technology startups with Accenture’s Global 2000 client base in order to fill strategic innovation gaps.
Accenture’s Technology Vision 2024 report found that 95% of executives believe that making technology more human will massively the opportunities of every industry. The report calls for a “human by design” approach that ensures companies use technologies fairly and responsibly.
“AI-powered humanoid robots are essential to reinventing work and supporting human workers as labor shortage is becoming an issue in many countries and industries,” stated Joe Lui, Accenture’s global advanced automation and robotics lead.
The US-born, Dublin-based Accenture believes Sanctuary AI is making “human by design” a reality by embedding Explainable AI in the Phoenix robot in order to feature reasoning and motion plans that can be defined and audited.
“Sanctuary AI’s advanced AI platform trains robots to react to their environment and perform new tasks with precision in a very short time,” said Lui. “We see huge potential for their robots in post and parcel, manufacturing, retail and logistics warehousing operations, where they could complement and collaborate with human workers and automate tasks that traditional robotics can’t.”
Phoenix, recognized as one of TIME’s “Best Inventions of 2023,” can perform a multitude of tasks, including working at a Mark’s retail store in Langley. Phoenix is powered by the company’s AI control system, Carbon, which mimics subsystems found in the human brain, such as memory, sight, and touch, and translates natural language into action in the real world.
“Robots with human-like intelligence will completely transform the workforce of the future,” posits Geordie Rose, cofounder and CEO of Sanctuary.
“By combining Accenture’s expertise in disruptive technology with Sanctuary AI’s industry-leading robotics, we can help some of the biggest companies in the world manage this change and provide the best solutions for its clients,” the chief executive officer said.
Accenture has previously invested in other robotics areas—through Accenture Alpha Automation, a joint venture with Japanese robotics firm Mujin, and acquisitions of Eclipse Automation in Canada and Pollux in Brazil.
Founded in 2018, Sanctuary in 2022 raised a sizeable round of funding. The company is among Canada’s top startups to work for.
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