Enigma secured $70 million to enable anyone on the internet to manage its robots and understand how people truly wish to communicate with machines.

      TL;DREnigma secured a $70 million seed funding round from Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital to explore human-robot interaction on a large scale, with over 100 proprietary robots available for online control. The company was founded by Microsoft's youngest employee and a co-founder from Unit 8200.

      Enigma, a robotics research lab that is less than a year old, has emerged from stealth mode, raising $70 million in a seed round led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital, with contributions from Sarah Guo’s Conviction Partners. Unlike others, the startup is not focused on creating a foundation model to enhance robotic abilities; instead, it aims to understand how humans prefer to interact with robots, positing that the interface challenge is more significant than the capability issue.

      To explore this, Enigma is initiating a public experiment where anyone online can command over 100 of its proprietary robots located in facilities in Israel and California. These robots can engage in activities such as drawing with paintbrushes, dueling with swords, and conducting simple chemistry by mixing flasks. Enigma developed both the robotic arms and the underlying models independently. The experiment will examine various interaction methods, including text, voice, video demonstrations, and tap-and-drag, to uncover what co-founder Jonathan Jacobi describes as the “volume knob” of robotics: an interface so intuitive that users don’t need to think about it.

      “If you had to do your dishes and spent 15 minutes telling a robot where to place everything, you’d eventually think, ‘Forget it, I’ll just do it myself,’” Jacobi explained to TechCrunch. “Right now, everyone feels that way, even with the most advanced models.” Jacobi, who was the youngest employee at Microsoft, was recruited by Wiz founder Asaf Rappaport. He co-founded Enigma with Gal Niv, a partnership that began when they competed in hacking contests as teenagers and served together in Israel’s Unit 8200. Neither co-founder is a roboticist. While NEURA Robotics raised $1.4 billion to develop physical AI from within, Enigma is banking on an outside-in approach, starting with the human experience rather than the robot's capabilities.

      The business model is intentionally left vague. Jacobi did not disclose specific use cases, though he mentioned healthcare, logistics, and entertainment as potential early partners. The $70 million seed funding for a company lacking a product, revenue, and a defined launch strategy highlights investor trust in the team's capabilities over a detailed roadmap. Shield AI garnered $2 billion for its Hivemind autonomous pilot, and the robotics funding landscape currently favors teams with exceptional technical expertise and unconventional approaches. The key question is whether allowing the internet to engage in sword fights with robots will yield a groundbreaking interface or simply result in a costly research venture, which the $70 million is meant to explore.