Waymo Pioneer Sebastian Thrun Building Stealth Robotics Startup
Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Google’s self-driving project, is building a stealth robotics startup called Dulo, according to a Business Insider exclusive. A bare website reveals it’s developing "foundation models for hardware design" with a team from Waymo, Google Brain, and Stanford’s AI Lab. Thrun shared little else.
August 19, 2026 – 1:25 pm
Credit: Christopher Michel
Thrun, a pioneer in self-driving cars, is launching a new robotics startup, Dulo. The company remains in stealth mode, and while he provided few details during a talk at Actuate, a robotics conference, he confirmed it’s focused on robotics.
The announcement was brief. Thrun mentioned Dulo as he concluded his keynote speech. He stated, "I am not speaking about the company yet,” adding that it’s "under stealth, it’s very small. But it’s in robotics."
What we know:
- Website: A simple website hosted by Stanford states Dulo is developing "foundation models for hardware design."
- Team: Key team members include leaders from Waymo, Google Brain, and Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL), where Thrun previously directed research.
- Focus: Dulo aims to revolutionize the design and manufacturing of hardware using the same foundation model techniques that have reshaped text, images, and code.
- Timing: Thrun is launching Dulo during a boom in robotics funding and interest driven by falling hardware costs, labor shortages, and reshoring pressures.
Robotics Investment Surge:
Physical AI startups, building machines that act in the real world, raised a record $16.3 billion across 492 deals in the first quarter of 2026, per PitchBook data cited by Business Insider.