MegaBots Inc.

MegaBots Inc. is an American startup company headquartered in Hayward, California that creates giant robots and real-world mecha for robotic sports competitions.[1][2][3][4][5] In June 2015, MegaBots challenged Japan-based Suidobashi Heavy Industry to the world's first giant robot duel.[6][7] Suidobashi accepted the challenge on the condition that the fight include melee combat.[8] In August 2015, MegaBots announced plans to upgrade its Mark II robot with melee capabilities by raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign and partnering with Howe and Howe Technologies, NASA, and IHMC.[9][10][11]

MegaBots was originally co-founded by Gui Cavalcanti, Matt Oehrlein, and Andrew Stroup in Somerville, Massachusetts mid-2014 with the vision to start an international robot fighting league. [12][13][14] In early 2015, the company re-located the headquarters to Hayward, CA, which included the departure of Andrew Stroup (to help run the White House Presidential Innovation Fellows) and the addition of Brinkley Warren as a late-addition co-founder.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The company raised a seed round of $3.85M dollars from investors including Autodesk, DCM, Maveron, Azure Capital, and AME Cloud Ventures.[25][26] The company announced that the Mk.III robot will be premiered at Maker Faire Bay Area[27] and that the first MegaBots match will take place in August 2017 and will be broadcast via the MegaBots YouTube Channel.[28] Season 1 of MegaBots web series premiered at Techcrunch Disrupt 2016,[29][30] and it follows the progress of the team as they upgrade the Mark II robot to take on the Kuratas. The company won Best in Show at the 2017 LAUNCH Startup Festival and announced a total subscriber base of more than 250k, 20million+ video views, $29billion press mentions,and an advertising equivalency value of $270M, which is one third of the brand value of the Transformers franchise during the period since MegaBots was founded.[31] The company also announced its plans to launch spin-offs of the MegaBots entertainment brand in verticals such live events, sponsorship, TV/Digital, and merchandising.[32]

References

  1. ↑ "US to take on Japan in battle of giant robots". BT.com. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  2. ↑ Press, Associated. "Megabots v Kuratas: US and Japan battle it out for robot supremacy". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  3. ↑ Somerville-born fighting robot to battle Japanese machine
  4. ↑ Megabots Linkedin Profile
  5. ↑ NASA And MegaBots Team Up To Build Giant Fighting Robots
  6. ↑ "Fighting Robots! U.S. MegaBot Challenges Japan : DNews". DNews. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  7. ↑ "Team USA launches Kickstarter to fund its giant robot duel with Japan". The Verge. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  8. ↑ UTC, Lance Ulanoff2015-07-06 20:43:34. "Challenge accepted: America's giant robot will battle Japan's giant robot". Mashable. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  9. ↑ USA vs. Japan Part II: Giant robots set to duel
  10. ↑ A Team of Americans Is Building a Giant Robot to Challenge Japan In Hand to Hand Combat
  11. ↑ MegaBots Kickstarter Campaign
  12. ↑ "Rise of the MegaBots". Popular Science. Retrieved 2015-01-21.
  13. ↑ "With Your Help, Giant Fighting Humanoid Robots Could Become a Reality". Vice. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  14. ↑ "MegaBots wants to make your giant battle mech dreams come true". Engadget. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
  15. ↑ "In this photo taken Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, MegaBots founders from left, Brinkley Warren, Matt Oehrlein and Gui Cavalcanti stand below their 15-foot tall, piloted Mk.II robot at the Pioneer Summit in Redwood City, Calif. Let the giant robot wars begin. A team of American engineers challenged a group in Japan to a battle for robot supremacy, and the Japanese said bring it on. So Oakland-based MegaBots has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to turn the Mk.II, into a real fighting machine, ready for hand-to-hand combat. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  16. ↑ "Calif. startup Megabots challenges Japan firm to giant robot battle". CTVNews. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  17. ↑ "U.S. startup challenges Japan to giant robot battle". The Washingtion Times. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  18. ↑ "'Smash hit': U.S. challenges Japan to giant robot battle". KOMO News. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  19. ↑ Press, TERENCE CHEAThe Associated (2015-11-16). "Americans challenge Japanese to giant fighting robot duel - Portland Press Herald". Press Herald. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  20. ↑ "MegaBot is Making the Giant Mech Combat Robot of Your Dreams". Playboy. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  21. ↑ Times, Tech (2016-01-13). "MegaBots Giant Robot Battle At CES 2016 Was A Bust". Tech Times. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  22. ↑ Russon, Mary-Ann (2017-04-05). "MegaBots confirms giant robot mecha duel with Japan's Kuratas will take place in August". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  23. ↑ The guys behind MegaBots say their giant fighting robot will pioneer an entirely new, worldwide sport
  24. ↑ "Giant robot fighting: Next billion-dollar sport?". CNBC. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  25. ↑ "MegaBots, Inc. | crunchbase". www.crunchbase.com. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  26. ↑ Kolodny, Lora. "MegaBots raises $2.4 million to create league of human-piloted, giant fighting robots". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  27. ↑ "MegaBots Mk.III Debut". Maker Faire. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  28. ↑ "Remember that US vs. Japan giant robot duel? It's happening this August". The Verge. 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  29. ↑ Heater, Brian. "The first episode of the MegaBots webseries takes a wrecking ball to its six-ton robot". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  30. ↑ Heater, Brian. "MegaBots debuts a trailer for its new web series, outlines its giant fighting robot kit". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  31. ↑ MegaBots Inc (2017-04-10), MegaBots Wins LAUNCH Festival 2017!, retrieved 2017-04-15
  32. ↑ "MegaBots". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
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