Trifo, which rebranded from PerceptIn, focuses on consumer home-robotics hardware and software and is currently marketing its third robotic vacuum, Lucy. Lucy pairs dual cameras with depth sensing and 1080p color imaging for mapping, home surveillance and predefined “patrol” routes. The robot includes obstacle avoidance for objects as short as one inch, room-by-room cleaning, a 5,200 mAh battery rated for up to two hours, and is priced at $799 with availability slated for Q1. Trifo has raised a $15 million Series B, bringing total funding to $26 million, and plans to use the proceeds to build more hardware and software, hire, and expand into the U.S. and European markets. The company faces a competitive market dominated by incumbents like iRobot but aims to differentiate through its camera and depth-sensing features. The Series B and product launch are being positioned to accelerate its consumer push and international expansion. Trifo launched Ironpie, its first home robot: a smart robot vacuum priced at $299 that emphasizes faster cleaning, furniture protection, remote monitoring, and a lower price point than top-end models. Ironpie's capabilities include a zig-zag cleaning route that the company says yields at least 10% greater efficiency, multi-sensor fusion (including IR/sonar) for obstacle sensing, secure remote monitoring via the Ironpie app, and planned Alexa and Google Home integration in the first half of 2019. Technical differentiators highlighted include an Armv8-A quad-core processor paired with the Trifo Intelligent Robotics Vision System (TIRVS), a patented SLAM-based visual navigation system, local 3D home mapping and learning, and the Ironsides stereo visual inertial computing module used by universities and developers. Trifo was founded in 2016 and has been granted approximately 40 U.S. and Chinese patents while filing more than 70 additional patents globally; its proprietary algorithms have been published at conferences such as ICRA and IROS. The company employs more than 40 people across Santa Clara, Shenzhen, and Beijing. In late 2018 Trifo received $11 million in new funding and is backed by Walden International, Matrix Partners, Samsung Ventures, and Tsinghua AI Fund.

Total raised

$26M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jan 2020