Kyber Labs

Cover Block

Name	Kyber Labs
Tagline	Building a robotic manipulation platform with artificial muscle fiber actuators for AI-based controls and dexterous tasks.
Headquarters	Brooklyn, United States
Founded	2022
Stage	Seed
Business Model	Hardware + Software
Industry	Deeptech
Technology	Robotics
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding Label	Seed (total disclosed ~$1,700,000)

Links

• Website: https://kyberlabs.ai/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kyber-labs

The Short Version

Kyber Labs is building a robotic manipulation platform from first principles, using artificial muscle fiber actuators to target the automation of dexterous, unstructured tasks that have eluded traditional industrial systems [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The company's bet is that a biomimetic hardware layer, designed for AI-based control from the start, is the key to automating high-mix, low-volume manual work and addressing persistent labor shortages [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. Founded in 2022 by Tyler Habowski and Yonatan Robbins, both of whom have backgrounds at SpaceX, the team brings deep hardware and engineering experience to a notoriously difficult deeptech problem [Forbes, 2026]. The company has raised a total of $1.7 million in seed-stage capital from a syndicate that includes Y Combinator, Cortical Ventures, and Endless Frontier Labs [PitchBook, 2025]. As of May 2026, Kyber operates with a lean team of seven, actively recruiting for key engineering and marketing roles [Tracxn, 2026]. Over the next 12-18 months, the critical watchpoints will be the transition from lab demonstrations to initial pilot deployments, the validation of cost and durability claims for its novel actuators, and the articulation of a clear path to its first commercial applications.

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Core company claims and funding total confirmed by PitchBook and company sources; founder backgrounds corroborated by Forbes and LinkedIn.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Seed
Business Model	Hardware + Software
Industry / Vertical	Deeptech
Technology Type	Robotics
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Co-Founders (2)
Funding	Seed (total disclosed ~$1,700,000)

The Company in Brief

Kyber Labs was founded in 2022 as a Brooklyn-based robotics company, emerging from the Newlab incubator at the Brooklyn Navy Yard [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The founding team, Tyler Habowski and Yonatan Robbins, brought backgrounds in advanced hardware engineering, with Robbins specifically noted as a SpaceX veteran who worked on flight reusability systems and novel manufacturing methods [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The company's formation was driven by a focus on building a robotic manipulation platform from the ground up, centered on a novel actuator technology rather than adapting existing industrial robot arms.

Key early milestones include a pre-seed funding round in 2023, which provided initial capital to develop the core artificial muscle fiber technology [Foley Ignite, 2023]. The company subsequently joined the Y Combinator accelerator program [Y Combinator]. By mid-2025, the company had raised a total of $1.7 million from a syndicate of early-stage deep tech and frontier technology funds, including Endless Frontier Labs and Cortical Ventures [PitchBook, 2025].

As of May 2026, the company reported an employee count of seven [Tracxn, 2026]. Public milestones to date are primarily technological, demonstrated through early prototype videos of a dexterous robotic hand [Forbes, 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding year, location, and total funding confirmed by PitchBook and company website. Team details corroborated by LinkedIn and company contact page. Employee count sourced from Tracxn.

What They Have Built

The core of Kyber Labs is a robotic manipulation platform engineered specifically for AI control [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The company's primary technical innovation is its actuator system, which uses artificial muscle fibers designed to mimic the properties of human muscle. This biomimetic approach is intended to enable fluid, compliant, and dexterous movements [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The platform is bimanual and is built for tasks in unstructured environments where minimal pre-programmed setup is required [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024].

Public demonstrations, such as a video posted in December 2024, show a high-speed robotic hand performing rapid grasping motions [Instagram, December 2024]. The company's stated target is automating "high mix, low volume" work [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The technology is described as catering to industries requiring sophisticated automation solutions, which typically includes manufacturing, logistics, and warehousing [CB Insights, 2024].

Current open roles for a Staff Engineer/Tech Lead and a Head of Engineering suggest a continued deep investment in core robotics systems, perception, and AI integration [Y Combinator, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Product claims are directly sourced from company materials and a public demonstration. Technical inferences from job postings are clearly labeled.

Market Size and Demand

Kyber Labs targets a segment of the robotics market defined by a persistent gap between the capabilities of traditional industrial automation and the fluid, adaptive intelligence required for human-scale work.

The company's stated focus is on automating "high mix, low volume work that has resisted traditional automation" [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. This points to a serviceable obtainable market (SOM) centered on complex, variable tasks in unstructured environments, such as light assembly, kitting, and parts handling. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of assemblers and fabricators to decline slightly through 2032, but notes that automation is increasingly adopted to offset persistent hiring challenges and rising labor costs [BLS, September 2023].

The global collaborative robot (cobot) market was valued at approximately $1.2 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to over $11 billion by 2030 [Grand View Research, 2023].

Metric	Value
Collaborative Robot Market 2023	$1.2B
Collaborative Robot Market 2030 (projected)	$11.8B

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is drawn from an analogous sector report; company-specific TAM/SAM is not publicly disclosed.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

Kyber Labs positions itself as a hardware-first challenger in a robotics market historically defined by rigid industrial arms and software-driven approaches to AI manipulation.

Incumbents and Established Alternatives. The most direct substitutes for Kyber's target use cases are traditional industrial robotic arms from companies like Fanuc, ABB, and KUKA. These systems dominate high-volume, repetitive tasks but are not designed for the fluid, adaptive movements required for high-mix, low-volume work [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. Collaborative robot (cobot) makers like Universal Robots rely on conventional electric motors and gearboxes, limiting their dexterity and force profile compared to biomimetic actuators.

New Wave and Adjacent Challengers. The broader landscape includes companies like Covariant, which focuses on AI-first software for robotic picking, and Figure AI, which is pursuing general-purpose humanoid robots. Kyber's specific wedge is its actuator technology.

• Defensible edge: Proprietary actuator IP. Kyber's primary claimed advantage is its low-cost artificial muscle fiber actuators [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024]. The co-founders' backgrounds in aerospace mechanism design at SpaceX suggest deep expertise in novel mechanical systems [Forbes, 2026].
• Exposure: Commercialization and ecosystem. Kyber's most significant exposure is its lack of a public commercial footprint or named partnerships. It must still build a full robotic platform, develop the AI control stack, and establish a sales channel.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive analysis is inferred from company positioning and general market mapping; no direct competitor comparisons are publicly cited.

Opportunity

The prize for Kyber Labs is a foundational position in the next generation of industrial automation, replacing rigid, single-purpose robots with a flexible, AI-native platform capable of performing the vast majority of manual tasks that currently resist automation.

The headline opportunity is to become the default manipulation platform for embodied AI in unstructured environments. The company's cited technology, artificial muscle fiber actuators, is described as enabling fluid, dexterous movement that conventional systems cannot achieve [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
Electronics Assembly	Kyber's dexterous hands become the standard for assembling small, complex components.	A major contract manufacturing partner pilots the system for a new product line.	The target market is defined by manual labor shortages and the need for precision [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024].
Logistics & E-commerce Fulfillment	The platform is deployed for robotic picking and packing of irregular, non-uniform items.	A strategic investment or pilot from a major logistics player.	The company targets tasks that have resisted traditional automation [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024].
The "Robotic App Store"	Kyber's hardware platform becomes a standard, with a thriving ecosystem of third-party developers.	The release of a robust software development kit (SDK) and simulator.	Building the platform for AI-based controls is a core stated design principle [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The opportunity analysis is based on the company's stated technological goals and target markets, which are well-cited. The growth scenarios and comparables are plausible extrapolations, but lack direct public evidence of progress toward them.

Sources

1. [Kyber Labs, retrieved 2024] Kyber Labs | https://kyberlabs.ai/
2. [PitchBook, 2025] Kyber Labs 2026 Company Profile: Valuation, Funding & Investors | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/534548-80
3. [Forbes, 2026] These Robot Hands Can Literally Make You An Egg Scramble Breakfast | https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2026/05/06/these-robot-hands-can-literally-make-you-an-egg-scramble-breakfast/
4. [Tracxn, 2026] Kyber Labs | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/kyber-labs
5. [Foley Ignite, 2023] Kyber Labs Pre-Seed | https://www.foleyignite.com/company/kyber-labs
6. [Y Combinator] Y Combinator Companies | https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/kyber
7. [Instagram, December 2024] Kyber Labs' Super-Fast Robot Hand Grabs Attention | https://www.instagram.com/p/DReqOFFDYcQ/
8. [CB Insights, 2024] Kyber Labs | https://www.cbinsights.com/company/kyber-labs
9. [BLS, September 2023] Occupational Outlook Handbook: Assemblers and Fabricators | https://www.bls.gov/ooh/production/assemblers-and-fabricators.htm
10. [Grand View Research, 2023] Collaborative Robot Market Size Report, 2023-2030 | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/collaborative-robots-market
11. [Bloomberg, June 2021] Hyundai Completes $1.1 Billion Acquisition of Boston Dynamics | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-21/hyundai-completes-1-1-billion-acquisition-of-boston-dynamics
12. [The Information, March 2024] Covariant Raises $75 Million at $1 Billion-Plus Valuation | https://www.theinformation.com/articles/covariant-raises-75-million-at-1-billion-plus-valuation