Ignite Startups: How Anthony Jules of Robust AI Is Redefining Human-Robot Collaboration | Ep201

Ignite: Conversations on Startups, Venture Capital, Tech, Future, and Society

Anthony Jules is the co-founder and CEO of Robust AI, a robotics company pioneering collaborative systems that blend human and machine intelligence. A 30-year tech veteran and MIT alum, Anthony previously co-founded Sapient Corporation, helped scale it from three to 4,000 employees, and later worked at Google advancing robotics and AI research. With deep expertise spanning software, AI, and organizational design, he offers rare insight into building technology that’s both intelligent and human-centered.

In this episode, he discusses his journey from Trinidad and Tobago to MIT, the evolution of robotics from rigid automation to adaptable collaboration, and how Robust AI is redefining productivity through human-robot teamwork. Anthony shares lessons on scaling companies, designing ethical AI systems, and why transparency and feedback loops are essential for both machines and organizations.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

00:00 Intro & Origin Story

01:27 Founding Sapient Corporation

03:00 Lessons in Leadership and Culture

05:43 Transition to Robotics

06:12 Google Acquisition and Lessons Learned

09:00 Inside Google’s Robotics Vision

11:45 Leaving Google to Start Over

13:55 Founding Robust AI with Rodney Brooks

15:50 Early Challenges and COVID Pivots

19:00 Human-Robot Collaboration

22:00 Cameras vs. LiDAR

24:44 Sensor Debate: Tesla vs. Waymo

26:59 The Robust AI Tech Stack

30:07 Collaborative Productivity

34:14 Real-World Deployments

37:18 Powering Robots with NVIDIA

39:22 Practical Robotics vs. Humanoids

42:40 Partnership with DHL Supply Chain

46:15 The Next Five Years of Robotics

49:33 Synthetic Data and Simulation

51:07 Scaling Phase and Phase Shifts

53:02 Reflections on Growth and Systems Thinking

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