On November 29, Business Insider reported that last week, a robotics startup called Sunday Robotics emerged from "stealth mode" and its team lineup was also exposed, including many former Tesla employees. Analysis data from the LinkedIn platform shows that Sunday Robotics has recruited at least 10 former Tesla employees, including many senior Tesla employees who have participated in the research and development of Tesla humanoid robots and autonomous driving projects.
Tesla humanoid robot Optimus
Perry Jia, who has worked on Tesla's Autopilot and Optimus robot projects for nearly six years, announced last week that he had left Tesla this summer to join Sunday Robotics.
According to LinkedIn information, Nadeesha Amarasinghe also joined Sunday Robotics this summer. He previously worked at Tesla for more than seven years, serving as the engineering leader of the AI infrastructure team and participating in the development of the Optimus humanoid robot and autonomous driving system.
Sunday Robotics home robot Memo
Autopilot and Optimus are Tesla's most high-profile R&D projects. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the ability to solve autonomous driving problems will determine the company's long-term value. He also attaches great importance to the Optimus humanoid robot, saying that the company's ultimate goal is to mass-produce millions of humanoid robots, and its application scenarios will extend from industrial manufacturing to personal care.
LinkedIn information shows that Sunday Robotics has also brought together a group of former interns and Autopilot employees who have worked at Tesla in the past five years, including Jason Peterson, a talent on the Optimus and self-driving taxi projects. According to the company’s LinkedIn profile, the current team size is about 50 people, including engineers and “memory developers” who assist in robot training.
Sunday Robotics was co-founded by Tony Z. Zhao and Cheng Chi, Ph.D.s from Stanford University. LinkedIn information shows that Zhao Zihao interned in Tesla's Autopilot team in 2022.
On November 19 this year, Sunday Robotics officially released its home robot Memo. According to the demonstration video posted by Zhao Zihao on X, Memo can complete household operations such as picking up a wine glass, loading dishes into the dishwasher, and folding socks.
Sunday Robotics is one of many startups entering the field of home robots. In October this year, robotics startup 1X released a consumer-adapted version of its home robot Neo. The company previously announced that it plans to officially ship to customers next year.