
Teaching Machines to Understand People ''Siri'' can only support a narrow set of commands and actions, and now both consumers and businesses are yearnings for more. It’s time for the next disruptive cycle. Enter Robin. Our approach differs fundamentally from the existing techniques. Today’s industry practices pragmatically narrow down the problem to create highly specialized solutions. Alas, such solutions do not scale, proving extremely fragile once original assumptions change. Conversely, we begin with a holistic model of language semantics, a unified methodology with reusable building blocks can be applied to any vertical, and dramatically speeds up the creation of individual-yet-interconnected assistants. Unlike Siri, our platform is open, expandable, and can be taught new concepts and phrases in a straightforward manner. It's called Robin.AI.

Teaching Machines to Understand People ''Siri'' can only support a narrow set of commands and actions, and now both consumers and businesses are yearnings for more. It’s time for the next disruptive cycle. Enter Robin. Our approach differs fundamentally from the existing techniques. Today’s industry practices pragmatically narrow down the problem to create highly specialized solutions. Alas, such solutions do not scale, proving extremely fragile once original assumptions change. Conversely, we begin with a holistic model of language semantics, a unified methodology with reusable building blocks can be applied to any vertical, and dramatically speeds up the creation of individual-yet-interconnected assistants. Unlike Siri, our platform is open, expandable, and can be taught new concepts and phrases in a straightforward manner. It's called Robin.AI.
Founded / HQ: Founded ~2008; Palo Alto, California
Product: Natural-language mobile and in-car virtual assistant platform (Robin.AI) and consumer apps
Funding (total): Approximately $1.09M (seed + extension)
Notable investors: Pioneer (via IT Farm), Esther Dyson, Arkady Borkovsky
Founder / CEO: Ilya Eckstein
Natural-language understanding and voice-driven virtual assistants for mobile and in-car use cases (navigation, local search, traffic, voice workflows).
2008
Artificial intelligence / Voice assistants
Extension in January 2014 increased total funding to about $1M
Prior angel investors reported (part of ~ $1M total)
“Seed-stage strategic interest from Pioneer (corporate fund) and participation from notable angels”