The Robot Works

Who we are

We build robots that help,
not replace, people.

This team has shipped home robots, self-driving cars, delivery robots, electric mobility, and safety-critical systems — a collective track record built across the most demanding proving grounds in robotics and automotive. Now we are directing that experience at the problem we believe matters most: helping older adults stay independent at home.

The Robot Works founding team

Founders

Humphrey Hu, PhD — CEO & co-founder

Humphrey Hu, PhD — CEO & co-founder

Full-stack roboticist

A full-stack roboticist across hardware, software, and AI, 16 years in. Berkeley ME and EECS; robotics PhD from CMU. Seven years designing and prototyping consumer robots — at Anki (Vector) and on Apple's robotics team.

Richard Wei — COO & co-founder

Richard Wei — COO & co-founder

Operator and product leader

Two-time YC operator and product leader with a decade in health tech. Helped scale an EHR company through rapid growth to an exit, and founded a preventative-care group for seniors — so he knows the resident, the building, and the clinical buyer.

Stern Grove community event TNDC community meeting Union Street neighborhood West Portal neighborhood

Lifelong friends bringing their life's work together — a founding team that has built alongside each other for years.

The Robot Works team Team collaborating on the robot

Founding team

Built navigation and simulation for autonomous vehicles. Built safety-critical automotive and mobile systems. Shipped consumer robots at Anki, Amazon, and Apple.

Our philosophy

Design for coexistence.

Carried from building robots at Anki, Amazon, and Apple — applied here to the home and senior care setting.

Never in the way.

It senses contact, yields, and routes around people — earning its place in the environment rather than demanding space.

Easy to understand.

Movement is deliberate, not reactive. A person who can read what the robot is about to do before it does it is a person who can trust it.

Clear expectations.

The robot does not claim warmth it cannot give. It is honest about what it is — a capable tool in service of people who care.

Safe by design.

Low mass, small actuators, no pinch points. Safety is structural, not procedural — built into the physical design.

Built by roboticists from Apple, CMU, Anki, and Amazon.

Want to work together?