Shifters, a developer of autonomous ground robotics systems, has raised $10.2 million in seed funding in a round led by Ace Capital Partners, the company announced Tuesday.
The financing brings the company's total funding to $15 million and will be used to advance artificial intelligence development, prepare for manufacturing and support expansion in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Additional investors in the round included Aurelius Capital Management, Corner Ventures, Arkin Capital, STEP World and Fresh Fund.
Shifters develops AI-powered robotic teams designed to operate in hazardous environments, including military, security and critical infrastructure settings. The company says its technology allows a single operator to supervise multiple autonomous ground robots tasked with reconnaissance, navigation and environmental sensing.
"The first asset into a dangerous environment should increasingly be a robot, not a person," Shifters CEO and co-founder Ofer Ballin said in a statement. He said the new funding will help accelerate development of systems that reduce human exposure to risk during missions.
The company is seeking to bring to ground operations some of the capabilities drones have introduced to aerial intelligence gathering and surveillance. Shifters says many military and security operations still require personnel to enter dangerous locations such as rubble-filled areas, tunnels and contaminated environments before sufficient information is available.
The funding comes as defense organizations increasingly emphasize artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and open-architecture technologies. Shifters said its platform is designed to support scalable deployment and integration with existing systems.
"Shifters is exactly that kind of company, and the AI motion control layer it is building is exactly the kind of capability we believe will define the next era of ground robotics," said Shimon Tsentsiper, co-founder and managing partner of Ace Capital Partners.
Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Assaf Chaprak said the company's challenge is combining hardware and software capable of operating in complex environments while maintaining simple human supervision.
Shifters said it is developing its platform using a Modular Open Systems Approach, or MOSA, allowing customers to integrate mission-specific payloads and software through open interfaces. The company has conducted demonstrations of coordinated robotic navigation and entry capabilities with defense and security stakeholders, according to the announcement.
Potential defense applications include reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, perimeter monitoring and mission preparation. Commercial uses include infrastructure inspection, agriculture, mining, and search-and-rescue operations.
Shifters is headquartered in Washington and operates in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.