Former Tesla Optimus AI Lead Ashish Kumar Co-Founds Non-Humanoid Robotics Startup Intelligent Machines

Ashish Kumar, a former AI lead for Tesla's Optimus program, has co-founded Intelligent Machines, a San Francisco robotics startup pursuing non-humanoid industrial robots instead of human-shaped general-purpose machines. The company is developing robots for skilled work in sectors such as manufacturing and aerospace and is seeking a seed round that could reach about $100 million, according to people with direct knowledge of the effort reported this week.