FrodoBots AI
Robotic gaming platform crowdsourcing real-world AI training data.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
* | $6.0m | Seed | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
FrodoBots AI is a company that merges robotic gaming with the collection of real-world data to train embodied artificial intelligence (AI). Founded in 2022 by Michael Cho, the company developed a platform where gamers can remotely control physical robots in various real-world locations. This process transforms the challenge of tele-operation into engaging gaming experiences, and the actions of the gamers provide valuable, action-labeled datasets for developing and training AI models for navigation and manipulation.
The company's business model is rooted in the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) concept, using crypto incentives and tokenomics to encourage a global network of users to own and operate robots, thereby contributing to the dataset. This approach aims to address the scarcity of high-quality, real-world data, a significant bottleneck in robotics research. FrodoBots makes its datasets, hardware designs, and SDKs open-source to foster collaboration with the AI research community, partnering with institutions like Google DeepMind and UC Berkeley. Revenue is generated through game passes that users can purchase to control the robots.
FrodoBots offers several gaming titles. 'Earth Rovers' is a public beta game described as a real-life 'Mario Kart' where players control sidewalk robots in a global scavenger hunt, which also serves as a testing ground for AI navigation models. Another title, 'Octo Arms,' is an invite-only game focused on robotic manipulation through 3D puzzles. The company has also launched 'Ultimate Fighting Bots' (UFB), where players control humanoid robots in battles. In February 2025, FrodoBots Lab announced it had raised a total of $8 million to launch BitRobot, a Solana-based network of subnets designed to advance embodied AI research.
Keywords: embodied AI, robotic gaming, data collection, DePIN, tele-operation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, real-world dataset, sidewalk robots, robotic manipulation, AI navigation, open-source robotics, crypto incentives, tokenomics, autonomous agents, BitRobot, Solana, Earth Rovers, remote control robots, AI training data