What to watch out for in your next funding round.
And China's Industrial Policy - how it shapes supply chain and robotics manufacturing
One of the hardest lessons to learn, as a robotics startup, or angel investor, is that other investors don’t always share your motivations and in spite of investing, the success of your startup isn’t as important to them as it is to you.
Enter the world of preferential shares and other tricky covenants you might find in term sheets. Here’s a sample from the VC Horror Stories post I shared last week from New Economies by Ollie Forsyth and Itamar Novick.
💸 The participating preferred nightmare.
🔒 The corporate VC information rights weapon.
👑 The control illusion.
📊 The valuation death trap.
🚫 The right of first refusal killer.
🔄 The full ratchet wealth transfer.
📚 The preference stack blindness.
Participating preferred means investors get BOTH their money back AND their ownership percentage—not one or the other like standard "non-participating" preferred shares. It’s worse if there are multiples ie. 2X involved because these funds are returned to investors BEFORE founders. Avoid these predatory terms.
The Corporate VC information trap can mean that very early stage investors with minimal skin in the game can still have access to your IP and customer deal information years after they first invested. And they may use this for their own benefit, not yours. Cap the period that early stage investors have information access.
Preferred shareholders with minority stakes in your company may have blocking privileges that prevent acquisitions or other deals that majority shareholders in your company have approved. Clarify these conditions and consider sunset clauses.
Right of First Refusal clauses, and other tricks like Full Ratchet Wealth Transfer, and the preferential shares that accumulate as you fundraise also pose problems. Model your exit scenarios.
Down rounds have been very common since interest rates increased, so there are many horror stories about aiming high and ending up with nothing. Terms that look good for your current fundraise can make it impossible to raise at the next expected increase. Raise as if the next raise will be difficult.
Even if your investors are supportive and believe in your future, they have far more experience protecting their investment than you do.
Meanwhile the Bay Area Council Economic Institute has released a deep dive on China’s Industrial Policy.
We are pleased to enclose the latest China Brief, produced in partnership with Stanford’s Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI). This week’s Brief looks at the last two decades of industrial policy in China. It’s findings highlight the tools that governments in China use, the large role played by local government, and the growing influence of central government priorities.
This report analyzes 768,000 industrial policy documents from central, provincial, and city levels in China between 2000 and 2022 to understand their design, targeting, implementation, and effectiveness.
COMMUNITY NEWS
Highlights from Open Robotics:
2025-07-19 => 2025-07-20 Joint Open Robotics / OpenCV / OSHWA booth at Open Sauce
2025-07-31 Canadian Robotics Council / ROS Meetup at Avidbots in Kitchner Ontario
2025-08-29 => 2025-09-05 ROS Summer School 2025 at FH Aachen
🚀 We’re thrilled to announce the 1st International Humanoid Olympiad (www.humanoidolympiad.org) that will take birth at the grounds of the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece, from August 29 to September 2, 2025.
🤖 Why in Olympia and why now?
🇬🇷 Olympia, Greece is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the place where the human body and spirit were first pushed beyond limits. Humanoids will stand on the same ground taking a significant step in their quest to become our peers.
🦾 2025 marks a pivotal moment in humanoid development. Physical AI is empowering an increasingly maturing robot hardware to accomplish feats that were though to be impossible. Robotic dexterity and intelligence are here to build a shared future, a society of humans and robots. Organized by Acumino and Endeavor Greece, the Humanoid Olympiad will feature:
🏅 Live participation of humanoids in Olympic inspired games
🎓 Inspiring talks by world experts in Humanoid Robots and Physical AI
🌍 Cutting-edge humanoid exhibitions from around the world
👩🔬 A thriving community of researchers, builders, dreamers, and pioneers
Get ready for the ultimate showdown of humanoid robots. Join us in Olympia as we reimagine what is possible with humanoid robots!
The IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE) is the flagship automation conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS) and constitutes the primary forum for cross-industry and multidisciplinary research in automation. Its goal is to provide broad coverage and dissemination of foundational research in automation among researchers and practitioners.
CASE 2025 will be held on August 17 – August 21, 2025, in Los Angeles, California, USA. The pre-conference workshops will be held on August 17, 2025. This is a great opportunity to showcase to the world’s leading automation, robotics and engineering community.
Sponsor and exhibitor information can be found here and you can also apply for the IEEE RAS IAB Startup Zone (discounted exhibit space and conference registration).
Silicon Valley Robotics Investor/Startup Database
Are you a startup fundraising atm? Fill out our "For Investors Eyes Only" sheet.
These investors write checks anywhere from angel and seed stage to $5-50 million.
Feedback from the startups - high quality inbound interest from investors.
Feedback from the investors - incredible depth and range of robotics startups.
If you’re an accredited investor and haven’t already signed up for the spreadsheet - Sign up here for great robotics deal flow!
Robotics News
Figure AI founder Brett Adcock says there will soon be as many humanoid robots as humans - Business Insider
Futurist Adam Dorr on how robots will take our jobs: ‘We don’t have long to get ready - it’s going to be tumultuous’ - The Guardian
Humanoid robot startup Diligent taps Cruise executives as it looks beyond healthcare - Reuters
This Humanoid Robot Can Cook Remotely - A Glimpse into the Future of AI-Powered Kitchens - The Tech Journal
From Kitchen to Front of House, Restaurants Deploy AI-Powered Robots - PYMNTS
Cleaning Up in Robotics: Kokobots IPO and the Automation Surge - AInvest
Surgical robots take step towards fully autonomous operations - New Scientist
Waymo’s World: The Dawn of the Autonomous Vehicle Era in the Big Apple - amNY
May Mobility Launches Ride-Hail API, Signaling Readiness to Scale Autonomous Deployments Globally - Yahoo Finance
Why Are Big Corporations So Keen on Solving Vehicle Autonomy? - Autoevolution
The Autonomous Vehicle Market Is Forecast to Grow and Boost Ride-sharing Presence - Goldman Sachs
Autonomous air taxis are revving up in Miami - here’s what to know - TimeOut
Joby hydrogen-powered autonomous aircraft emerges after apparent 9-hour flight - Hunterbrook
Solar-powered robot zaps weeds without chemicals - Fox News
Colombia identifies new threat in drug war: the autonomous narco drone sub - The Guardian
You can now pre-order Hugging Face’s Reachy Mini robots - Engadget
RealSense spins out from Intel, secures $50 million to drive AI vision in robotics - Reuters
Robotics Events
Coming soon - Open Robot Gym Hours, Workshops and more
Robot Board Game Night at Polymath Robotics - July 17
ROS By the Bay at Google X - July 24
Actuate - Sep 23-24
SVR Robotics Investment Summit - Sep 25
ROSCON UK
ROSCON Singapore - Oct 27-30
SVR Robotics Leadership Summit - Dec 10
Humanoids Summit - Dec 11-12
Join the organizing team at Silicon Valley Robotics - bots&beer@svrobo.org
