Australian humanoid robotics company Andromeda – responsible for developing Abi the companion robot – has raised $23 million in Series A funding. The funding round, led by Forerunner Ventures, was the first major venture capital round for the company and one of the largest Series A rounds led by a woman in Australia this year.
The news accompanies the launch of the next generation of Abi, Genesis Abi, who has been rebuilt with major upgrades to make her the first humanoid robot ready to support the workforce in Australia.
Genesis Abi will be deployed to a mecwacare aged care home this month, where this year the first version was introduced to 22 homes on a permanent basis following a successful 2024 trial.
Andromeda chief executive officer Grace Brown described Genesis Abi as “fully autonomous.”
“Care teams can direct Abi and set her daily schedule, and she’ll navigate the home independently – supporting staff to lead group activities, spending one-on-one time with residents, conversing in their preferred language, listening to their stories, and bringing that spark of human connection we all crave,” she said.
“We’re grateful to all our aged care partners who’ve co-developed Abi with us to support care teams in providing more companionship to residents, filling a void that simply can’t be solved by more staff alone.”
Medical and Aged Care Group also formed a strategic partnership with Andromeda in 2024 to bring Abi to their aged care homes, and she was trialled at Benetas’ Altona facility in the same year.
Ms Brown said the Series A funding will help them scale operations and teams in Australia and accelerate their expansion into the United States.
“This funding will see us expand into the United States focusing on aged care initially, and in Australia it means we can fast-track our waitlist and bring the magic of Abi’s companionship to more customers and partners in the aged care sector and other industries,” Ms Brown said.
“We’re hiring across every area of our business in Australia from engineering to customer success while in the US, we’re particularly looking for creative and animation robotics specialists.”
Led by US-based Forerunner Ventures, the Series A funding round also includes Rethink Impact, Artesian, Main Sequence, Visible Ventures and Trampoline, along with previous investors Startmate and Purpose Ventures – which led Andromeda’s Seed funding round last year.
There was also a large cohort of female investors, including ŌURA chairperson and Forerunner partner Eurie Kim, Main Sequence investment manager Alezeia Brown, Rethink Impact managing partner Heidi Patel and Artesian analyst Ananya Sinha.
“We believe the next mass technological adoption will be the home companion robot. With Abi, we’re leading that shift – starting in aged care where the need for meaningful connection is greatest,” said Ms Brown.
“We’re at the frontier of emotion, character AI and social systems design, building a new kind of relationship that feels warm, helpful and profoundly human because the world needs more of that,” she continued.
This story first appeared on Australian Ageing Agenda, a Positive Impact Media publication.