Daniel Theobald, Founder and Chairman of Vecna Robotics, talks about funding early-stage robotics startups. He shares his experience in the industry and discusses the Robotics Startup Workshop at RoboBusiness 2023. Daniel also discusses his ag-robotics test ground on his personal farm, the challenges of ag robotics, and the Acorn robot platform as a solution for agriculture. The chapter highlights the importance of funding and aligning government contracts with development timelines, and the challenges in obstacle detection and wireless communication in outdoor robotics.

Daniel Theobald, founder of Vecna Robotics, has been building robots for over two decades and has sold hundreds to giants like Walmart and FedEx. He shares groundbreaking insights on why robots don't need to be perfect, advocating for designs that accept human assistance for edge cases. The discussion covers his journey of raising $40M, navigating challenges in robotics, and the importance of trusting your gut as a founder. He also emphasizes the evolving relationship between AI and human workers, shedding light on the future of automation.