Kuri (Mayfield Robotics)
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Kuri was a camera-equipped mobile home companion robot built by Mayfield Robotics, a startup launched in 2015 as part of Bosch's Startup Platform and based in Palo Alto. Debuted at CES, the $699 robot was designed to roam the home, recognize faces and capture photos and videos of family life. Limited shipments to backers began in late 2017.
02 / Kuri (Mayfield Robotics) FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Bosch could not find a place for Mayfield Robotics in its portfolio: after an extensive review, the company said there was no business fit within Bosch to support and scale the business. Manufacturing of Kuri ceased in July 2018, and despite talks with dozens of external companies since late 2017, no financing partner was found. Mayfield Robotics ceased all operations on October 31, 2018, refunding pre-order deposits; Bosch helped employees with severance and outplacement.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
Mayfield Robotics announced in August 2018 that all operations would cease by 31 October after it failed to secure external support.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Bosch spin-out builds $699 home companion robot
- 02
No business fit within Bosch to scale it
- 03
Manufacturing halted July 2018; dozens of partner talks fail
- 04
All operations cease Oct 31, 2018; pre-orders refunded