Intel spins out AI robotics company RealSense with $50 million raise

• Intel said its is spinning out its artificial intelligence robotics and biometric RealSense and announced a $50 million funding round.
• RealSense, which makes tools and technology for robotics automation, said it plans to use the funding to develop new product lines and meet growing demand.
• Tech companies like Tesla and Amazon have bet big on robotics technology and automation.

Intel is spinning out its artificial intelligence robotics and biometric venture as more companies bet big on automation tools.

The new company, known as RealSense, was announced Friday and comes alongside a $50-million Series A funding round that includes MediaTek Innovation Fund and Intel Capital, the chipmaker's venture arm that it is also spinning out.

RealSense, which makes the tools and technology for robotics automation, said it plans to use the funding to develop new product lines and meet growing demand worldwide. Nadav Orbach, Intel's current vice president and general manager for incubation and disruptive innovation, will serve as CEO.

“The timing is now for physical AI,” as the technology gains more use cases and traction, Orbach told CNBC in an interview. “We want to develop new product lines. We see the demand and we see the need, and with where it's at right now, the right thing for us was to raise external funds.”

Companies across the globe have ramped up investment in the burgeoning robotics space as AI use cases expand.

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Morgan Stanley expects the market for humanoid robots to hit $5 trillion by 2050 as tech companies, including Tesla and Amazon, bet big on the technology and automation.

Elsewhere, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called robotics the biggest opportunity for the chipmaker after AI, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last month claimed AI is handling 30% to 50% of the software vendor's work.

Intel has undergone a series of cost-cutting plans after the worst year for its stock in decades.

The company axed CEO Pat Gelsinger and cut jobs last year as it struggled to keep up with AI competition. In April, the company said it would sell a majority of its stake in chip subsidiary Altera.

RealSense, formerly known as Intel Perceptual Computing, was created more than a decade ago to investigate 3D vision technology and launched its first product in 2015. The company employs about 130 people across the U.S., Israel and China and caters to autonomous robot manufacturers such as Eyesynth and Unitree Robotics.

Orbach said RealSense is focused on bringing more safety tools to the industry and easy-to-use technology for its customers. Intel will maintain a minority stake in the company.