Fauna
Fauna Robotics builds Sprout, a safety-engineered humanoid robot with modular autonomy and full SDK access, sold directly to developers, enterprises, and academic researchers for use in retail, hospitality, entertainment, consumer, and research applications.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Fauna does
Fauna Robotics is a private US-based humanoid robotics company headquartered in New York City that designs, engineers, and ships a single product platform called Sprout — a compact humanoid robot featuring modular autonomy, compliant locomotion, and whole-body teleoperation, built around a safety-first architecture (lightweight materials, soft exterior, minimized pinch points, onboard safety sensing, and compliant motor control that yields to external forces). The company markets to three primary user communities: software developers who want full SDK access to build custom applications on the hardware, enterprises in retail, hospitality, and entertainment seeking AI-capable customer-facing robots, and academic and industry researchers studying locomotion, manipulation, autonomy, and human-robot interaction. Named reference relationships include Disney (entertainment), Boston Dynamics (robotics), UCSD (academic research), and a partner identified as Labs, with a publicly available arXiv technical report documenting the platform.
The Sprout robot ships with battery, grippers, and software bundled in. The company positions its offering across five verticals: retail and hospitality (guest greeting, product showcasing, in-store guidance), consumer and home (personal assistant, family companion, home concierge), research and education (engineering curriculum, student projects, robotics competitions, real-world data collection for AI research), entertainment and experiences (interactive characters in theme parks, attractions, and live events), and a developer segment (SDK access for custom robotics applications). The modular autonomy architecture and full SDK access are explicitly designed to enable third-party extension rather than sell a closed appliance.
Fauna generates revenue primarily through hardware sales of the Sprout robot, supplemented by recurring access to its SDK and software platform. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed — the company runs a consultative, direct-sales motion with a "Request Robot" form on its website and a dedicated sales email ([email protected]), and recruits operational staff through Amazon Jobs. The company distributes exclusively through its own direct channels within the United States, with no disclosed resellers or international footprint, and positions itself as "Designed in NYC, Assembled in America." The company has raised approximately $84.6 million across five funding rounds between 2016 and 2020, with investors including Madrona, Google Ventures, CRV, DCVC, Point72 Ventures, and Costanoa Ventures.
Fauna firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fauna
- Legal name
- Fauna Robotics Inc
- Website
- https://fauna.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Fauna Robotics builds Sprout, a safety-engineered humanoid robot with modular autonomy and full SDK access, sold directly to developers, enterprises, and academic researchers for use in retail, hospitality, entertainment, consumer, and research applications.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fauna industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Humanoid Robotics
- akta.pro primary industry
- Humanoid & General-Purpose Robots (HDAAAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK), Human-Robot Interaction & Teleoperation Systems (HDAAAIAM), Service & Hospitality Robots (HDAAAIAB), Home Companion & Social Robots (CRACARAE)
Keywords
Where Fauna is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Fauna business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Robot Hardware Sales: Sale of humanoid robots (Sprout) with battery, grippers, and software included. Hardware-first revenue model with bundled software capabilities.
- SDK and Software Access: Revenue derived from developer access to robot SDK and software platform for building custom applications on the robot hardware
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sprout Robot Platform |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Fauna product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fauna sells the Sprout humanoid robot platform, a physical robot that ships with battery, grippers, and software included, paired with full SDK access for developers. The platform offers modular autonomy, compliant locomotion, and whole-body teleoperation, and is positioned for safe human interaction across enterprise, research, and consumer-facing deployments. The company's first-party website describes it as building 'a world where robots operate everywhere people do.'
Product overview
Fauna Robotics offers a single unified product platform built around the Sprout humanoid robot. The platform provides hardware with full SDK access for developers, enterprise AI application deployment capabilities for businesses, and a versatile research platform for robotics studies. The core Sprout robot ships with battery, grippers, and software included, targeting use cases in retail and hospitality, consumer and home environments, research and education, and entertainment and experiences.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sprout: Humanoid robot platform for developers, enterprises, and researchers. Features modular autonomy, compliant locomotion, and whole-body teleoperation. Used for retail, hospitality, consumer/home, research/education, and entertainment applications.
Products and services
- Sprout Sprout is a humanoid robot platform with modular autonomy, compliant locomotion, and whole-body teleoperation capabilities, designed for safe human interaction using lightweight materials, a soft exterior, minimized pinch points, onboard safety sensing, and compliant motor control. It ships with battery, grippers, and software included, comes with full SDK access for developers, and is configurable with custom voices, gestures, and movements. It is offered to developers (SDK on hardware), enterprises (retail, hospitality, entertainment, business operations), researchers (locomotion, manipulation, autonomy, HRI studies), and consumer/home users (personal assistant or companion applications).
Companies that use Fauna
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Fauna technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Fauna partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Fauna competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Figure AI: Figure AI develops the Figure 01/02 humanoid robot targeting enterprise applications including manufacturing and logistics. It is a direct competitor in the general-purpose humanoid category pursuing enterprise commercialization.
- 1X Technologies: 1X builds the Neo humanoid robot with a focus on safe, human-friendly design for home and enterprise use. Direct competitor with similar safety-first design philosophy and dual consumer/enterprise go-to-market.
- Apptronik: Apptronik develops the Apollo humanoid robot and has secured partnerships with Google DeepMind and Mercedes-Benz for enterprise deployments. Direct competitor in humanoid robotics targeting similar enterprise and logistics verticals.
- Agility Robotics: Agility Robotics builds the Digit humanoid robot focused on logistics and warehouse applications with Amazon as a tested partner. Direct competitor in the humanoid category with a more focused logistics vertical.
- Boston Dynamics: Boston Dynamics manufactures the Atlas humanoid robot and is a leading humanoid robotics incumbent. Fauna lists Boston Dynamics as a 'trusted partner,' making the relationship simultaneously customer and competitor — directly competing in the humanoid category.
- Unitree Robotics: Unitree produces the H1 and G1 humanoid robots at significantly lower price points with broad developer availability. Direct competitor pressuring the humanoid market on cost and accessibility for developers and researchers.
- Sanctuary AI: Sanctuary AI develops the Phoenix humanoid robot with a focus on industrial and customer-facing applications, emphasizing dexterous manipulation. Direct competitor in commercial humanoid deployment.
- Fourier Intelligence: Fourier Intelligence produces the GR-1 humanoid robot and has deep rehabilitation robotics roots. Direct competitor targeting general-purpose humanoid applications with emphasis on dexterity and human interaction.
- Hanson Robotics: Hanson Robotics builds socially expressive humanoid robots such as Sophia with a focus on customer engagement, entertainment, and research. Direct competitor in the socially-engaging humanoid niche that overlaps with Fauna's entertainment and retail verticals.
Broad incumbents
- Tesla (Optimus): Tesla's Optimus humanoid is a moonshot within a much larger EV and energy business. While broadly pursuing humanoid robotics, Tesla's primary identity and capital allocation sit elsewhere, making it a broad incumbent rather than a pure-play peer.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Fauna social profiles
Digital presenceFauna financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fauna leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Fauna funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors16 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fauna M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fauna
What does Fauna do?
Fauna sells the Sprout humanoid robot platform, a physical robot that ships with battery, grippers, and software included, paired with full SDK access for developers. The platform offers modular autonomy, compliant locomotion, and whole-body teleoperation, and is positioned for safe human interaction across enterprise, research, and consumer-facing deployments. The company's first-party website describes it as building 'a world where robots operate everywhere people do.'
Is Fauna a public or private company?
Fauna is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Fauna founded?
Fauna was founded in 2015. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Fauna based?
Fauna is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fauna make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Robot Hardware Sales are the primary driver. The others are SDK and Software Access.
Who are Fauna's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Figure AI, 1X Technologies, Apptronik, Agility Robotics, Boston Dynamics, Unitree Robotics, Sanctuary AI, Fourier Intelligence and Hanson Robotics. Tesla (Optimus) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Fauna have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fauna.
What industry is Fauna in?
Fauna's product category is Humanoid Robotics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAIAJ, Humanoid & General-Purpose Robots, with a secondary code of HDAAAIAK, Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins).