Every year, we see robotics startups with promising technologies shut their doors for good. It’s often very difficult to find funding to keep the business running while iterating on a robot and demonstrating its value to new customers.

However, San Francisco-based Electric Sheep’s unique business model allows it to bring in revenue as it takes its time deploying its technology. This business model led to it winning our inaugural Startup of the Year Award.

Electric Sheep develops autonomous robots for outdoor maintenance. Its flagship robot is an autonomous mower backed by the company’s ES1 foundation model. Based on recent advances in generative AI, ES1 is a learned-world model that enables reasoning and planning for the company’s robots.

Instead of selling or leasing the robots to commercial landscaping businesses, Electric Sheep is becoming vertically integrated by purchasing the landscaping companies. This allows Electric Sheep to get to know how these businesses operate and where the robots can best be deployed while still bringing in revenue. Once it has decided where the robots can do the most work, the team can start integrating them into operations.

Electric Sheep’s strategy isn’t just about revenue. The businesses it acquires can also provide crucial data used to make ES1 more effective. And because this data will be coming from businesses that ES1 will be at work in, the company’s robots can start working from the moment they hit the ground.

Since implementing this strategy, Electric Sheep said it has grown revenue by eight times. Last year, it acquired four landscaping businesses, and it said this strategy is key to its long-term plan. By ensuring that the startup always has revenue coming in, and finding a unique way to acquire essential industry-specific data, Electric Sheep has set itself apart from other startups.

Explore the RBR50 Robotics Innovation Awards 2024.