Robotics startup cofounded by Synapse CEO is raising funds with exaggerated claims about GM ties
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A humanoid robotics startup cofounded by the CEO of bankrupt fintech firm Synapse has canvassed Silicon Valley investors for funds by claiming close ties and an imminent investment from General Motors — claims rejected by the automaker.
The company, called Foundation Robotics Labs, is seeking the last $1 million in funds for an $11 million seed round, according to documents obtained by CNBC. The investor pitch claimed GM had already committed to an investment, along with the Menlo Park-based VC firm Tribe Capital.
«Foundation is building humanoid robots to take over work that humans do in factories, warehouses and eventually homes,» the startup declared.
On top of the seed investment, the fundraising document said GM was set to be Foundation's first customer, with a targeted $300 million purchase order, and had also provided access to its factories to help them train its robots.
«GM agreed to let us collect the ground truth data in their factories,» Foundation said in the document. «Our team is in their Mexico factory this week to start the collection process. We would probably be the only company in this space with a dataset like this.»
But, according to GM and one of the startup's founders, most of Foundation's claims related to the automaker are exaggerated or untrue.
While GM met with Foundation executives a few times, it hasn't allowed data collection from its factories, has no agreements for robot orders and isn't planning an investment, according to a GM spokesman.
«GM has never invested in Foundation Robotics and has no plans to do so,» spokesman Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement. «In fact, GM has never had an agreement of any kind with the company. Any claims to the contrary are
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