Algorized, a Berkeley, Calif.-based AI-powered platform for advanced people-sensing and positioning software, announced it has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to drive innovation in people sensing and support safer human-machine interaction.
The investment round was led by Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, with participation from Acrobator Ventures, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, CoreNest Capital, Shucker Ventures and other strategic investors.
Safe collaboration between humans and robots
With the adoption of robotics and automation across industries, ensuring the safe collaboration of people and machines is an important challenge. Human detection remains a key area of development, particularly for robots that need to distinguish people from objects when using cost-competitive and scalable hardware. Algorized addresses this challenge by offering a sensor-agnostic software-only approach that transforms off-the-shelf wireless sensors into accurate people-sensing solutions.
Algorized employs proprietary machine learning algorithms processed at the edge, unlocking vast amounts of data, including people flow, demographics, accurate positioning and vital sign detection in diverse physical environments. This data-centric approach allows for the fusion of various sensor inputs in the multi-modal platform, enhancing overall system capabilities.
Since Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radar technology is rapidly expanding in vehicles, mobile devices and buildings, Algorized can utilize this existing infrastructure without requiring costly hardware upgrades.
“Securing this funding enables us to scale our sensor-agnostic platform, extend our team and execute a growth strategy that will help us establish a strong foothold in industrial, robotics and automotive markets,” said Natalya Lopareva, CEO of Algorized. “Algorized’s AI software transforms wireless sensors into powerful people-sensing technology, providing a vital layer of intelligence for safeguarding humans, preventing accidents, while supporting efficient operations.”
Algorized's journey began with a focus on platforms for life-saving applications, such as locating individuals trapped in buildings during disasters.
“At Amazon, we envision a future where people and machines collaborate side-by-side with maximum safety and efficiency,” said Franziska Bossart, head of Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. “We believe Algorized is making meaningful progress toward this vision through innovative people-sensing AI software. The ability to adapt to existing sensors makes this technology both accessible and transformative.”