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Bonus Episode 6.04: Surprising truths | Claire Asher Get more from Claire Asher on Patreon

✨ New bonus episode! ✨

I asked roboticists what is well known in their field of robotics, but outsiders find surprising. Their answers touch on technical challenges, societal impact, and even students' expectations.

🎧 Listen here: www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-... #Robots #Robotics

A black and white photo of Mark looking happy, wearing a checked shirt.

Mark Gray is UK & Ireland manager at Universal Robots. As country manager, he was the first person to work for Universal Robots in the UK and has carried out projects with many research institutes.

Listen to our chat here: www.robottalk.org/2026/01/30/e... #Robots #Robotics

Luna Systems Raises €1.5M for AI Cycling Safety Tech Luna Systems has secured €1.5 million in a late seed funding round. This investment brings its first AI-powered safety camera hardware to market. The funding marks a significant shift in rider safety technology. It changes how companies build and deliver these solutions. Fundracer Capital and EIT Urban Mobility led the round. Enterprise Ireland provided additional support. This funding accelerates Luna's transition.

Luna Systems Raises €1.5M for AI Cycling Safety Tech

Luna Systems has secured €1.5 million in a late seed funding round. This investment brings its first AI-powered safety camera hardware to market. The funding marks a significant shift in rider safety technology. It changes how companies build…

#ICYMI: Last month, I chatted to Prof. Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi from Ohio Northern University about two-legged #robots.

Catch up here 🎧 - www.robottalk.org/2025/12/12/e... or wherever you get your podcasts!

#Robotics #Humanoid

Energy 101 at #CES2026… a primer on the future of power. Surging demand from AI data centers, EVs, and onshored manufacturing is colliding with a grid designed for a different era. The result: urgency—and opportunity.

https://ow.ly/OEla50XXGPz

A photo of Maria looking happy, wearing a black blouse.

Curious about miniaturised living #robots? 🤖

Later this season, I'll be chatting to Dr. Maria Guix (@mariaguix.bsky.social) from @ub.edu about combining electronics and biology to create tiny 'biohybrid' robots.

Send me your questions for Maria in the comments!

The all-women led VC firms in Europe The 26 all-women led VC firms in Europe The all-women led VC firms in Europe

The all-women led VC firms in Europe

This is 10th-grader Arnoldo Bazan.

A citizen.

Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.

"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.

Agents took and sold his phone

And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.

Cover: The Thin Edge of Innovation: Metro Vancouver’s Evolving Economy, by Roger Hayter, Jerry Patchell, and Kevin Rees. Photo: a multi-story building with lit apartments, blurred through a rainy window. Beside the cover, white text reads "New in Paperback"

"The Thin Edge of Innovation" charts the origins, potential, and pitfalls of Metro Vancouver’s entrepreneur-led innovation economy, including the tremendous growth of high-tech, apparel, and consumer-oriented life-style businesses in the city. https://bit.ly/4iYEoRy

Don't forget to send me your questions for Mark!

What have you always wanted to know about cobots?

#Robots #Robotics #Manufacturing

The origami wheel that could explore lunar caves Beneath the moon's cratered surface lie networks of lava tubes and deep pits, natural caves that could shelter future lunar bases from cosmic radiation and wild temperature swings. These underground s...

Roboticists at KAIST have developed a wheel that can expand and contract, enabling rovers to cope with complex terrain on other planets. The wheel combines principles from Leonardo da Vinci's designs and origami folding patterns. 🤖 techxplore.com/news/2025-12... #Robots #Robotics

It's Tuesday.

Eight US policy battles that will shape impact investing in 2026 Uncover the key developments in impact investing policy that will shape economic and climate action in 2026.

The impact investing landscape is rapidly evolving, and 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year. The @usimpinvalliance.bsky.social team has outlined 8 key policy areas that could shape the future of impact and sustainable investing. #impinv

Read the full article at @impactalpha.com

Happy Holidays from Living Cities!

In 2026, we will continue to reimagine access to capital and demonstrate inclusion through citywide collaborations that align policy, practice, and ownership.

Wishing a peaceful and joyful holiday season for all!

#Philanthropy #ImpactInvesting #InclusiveEconomy

iNTERGAME for the global amusements industry iNTERGAME for the global amusements industry - InterGame January 2026

We’re excited to be in InterGame magazine discussing the rise of competitive socializing.
As arcades look for new ways to drive repeat visits, we're helping bring connected, competitive experiences and give players more reasons to keep playing.
edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader...

Happy holidays to those who celebrate and best wishes for a peaceful close to 2025! We'll be back in the new year with more exciting science solutions that @berkeleylab.lbl.gov is bringing to the world.

These investors backed the most European unicorns in 2025 Accel, General Catalyst and HV Capital were the most prolific unicorn-spotters this year

Europe saw a unicorn rebound in 2025: 27 companies crossed the $1bn valuation mark, making it the third most prolific unicorn-creating year on record, behind only the boom years of 2021 and 2022.

But which investors backed the most of those new unicorns?

11 UK companies VCs will be watching in 2026 We asked five investors which UK startups they’ll be keeping an eye on in 2026.

11 UK companies VCs will be watching in 2026 👀 👀 👀

These 33 robot startups raised over €10m in Europe this year AI advances have led to a surge of interest in the robotics field, with funding up 125% year on year to €1.6bn.

Investors are increasingly keen on robotics — part, in thanks, to advances in AI — with year on year funding into robot startups rising 125% in Europe.

But which were the biggest deals of the year?

Spotify wrapped image showing Robot Talk is 'A 2025 Rising Star' (the podcast's growth outpaced 79% of other shows); 'A 2025 Marathon Show' (fans listened to Robot Talk for longer than 90% of shows); and 'A 2025 Most Shared Show' (the podcast received more shares than 80% of shows).

Spotify wrapped image showing Robot Talk's top countries: 1. United Kingdom, 2. United States, 3. Canada, 4. Italy, 5. Germany.

Spotify wrapped image showing 91% Total Audience growth, 999% Total New Audience growth and 66% Listening Time growth.

What an amazing year 2025 has been for Robot Talk! 🤖

I interviewed over 40 roboticists, produced 12 bonus episodes, hosted 3 live panels, and took the show international for the first time.

It's wonderful to see the podcast grow and develop - here's to more robots in 2026! 🥂

World’s smallest robots swim, sense heat, and think autonomously Scientists unveil penny-sized microrobots that swim, sense temperature, and run for months using light-powered brains.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed the world’s smallest fully programmable, autonomous robots. Each measuring a fraction of a millimetre, the microrobots can sense their surroundings, make decisions, and operate independently. interestingengineering.com/ai-robotics/...

How can we make bipedal robots move more naturally in human environments? 🤖

In the latest episode, I chatted to Prof. Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi from Ohio Northern University about two-legged #robot movement.

Available wherever you get your podcasts: linktr.ee/robottalkpod

#Robotics

A photo of Wami looking happy, wearing a red and blue argyle jumper, a white shirt and a black blazer.

Got questions about two-legged #robots? 🤖

In the new season, I'll be chatting to Prof. Oluwami Dosunmu-Ogunbi from Ohio Northern University about bipedal robots that can walk and even climb stairs.

Send me your questions for Wami in the comments or on the website: robottalk.org/ask-a-question/

How is deep learning helping to make driverless vehicles smarter and safer? 🤖 🚘

In the latest episode, I chatted to Prof. Shimon Whiteson (@shimon8282.bsky.social) from @ox.ac.uk and @waymo.bsky.social about self-driving cars.

Available wherever you get your podcasts: linktr.ee/robottalkpod

learn from @HustleFundVC

small checks move faster than big egos.

Flex Raises $60 Million to Expand Unified Financial Platform Flex, a San Francisco-based AI-driven fintech startup, has raised $60 million in funding led by Portage Ventures, boosting its valuation to approximately $500 million. The investment brings Flex’s total equity raised to $105 million and will be used to accelerate product innovation and expand its 80-member team. Bridging the Mid-Sized Business Gap Flex was founded by…

Flex Raises $60 Million to Expand Unified Financial Platform

Flex, a San Francisco-based AI-driven fintech startup, has raised $60 million in funding led by Portage Ventures, boosting its valuation to approximately $500 million. The investment brings Flex’s total equity raised to $105 million and…

Don't forget to send me your questions for Elmira!

What would you love to know about child-robot interaction?

#Robots #Robotics #HRI

Curvestone AI Secures $4M to Fix AI’s Accuracy Problem in Regulated Workflows AI tools today excel at single tasks, often achieving more than 98% accuracy. Yet in complex, multi-step workflows — especially in financial services, legal, and insurance — small errors quickly accumulate. By the final step, overall accuracy can plummet to just 30–40%. This “compound error” problem is one of the biggest barriers preventing enterprises from adopting AI at scale. Curvestone AI, a London-based startup, is solving this challenge with a workflow automation platform engineered to maintain consistent accuracy across entire document-heavy and compliance-driven processes.

Curvestone AI Secures $4M to Fix AI’s Accuracy Problem in Regulated Workflows

AI tools today excel at single tasks, often achieving more than 98% accuracy. Yet in complex, multi-step workflows — especially in financial services, legal, and insurance — small errors quickly accumulate. By the final…

Excelsior Sciences, which aims to use AI and robots for small-molecule drug discovery and development, raised a $70M Series A from Khosla Ventures and others (Aayushi Pratap/Chemical & Engineering News)

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