Meet Feather, the startup building the ‘Android of robotics’ for developers

Feather Robotics, founded in 2025 by Hoa Mai and Parsa Bakhtiari, is selling a modular humanoid platform aimed at developers who want to customize hardware and software for real-world tasks. The company has raised a $7.6 million pre-seed round led by Gradient Ventures, has surpassed $1 million in revenue, and offers its robot at a reported price of $30,000.

By AI Newsroom· Reviewed by Pranav, Founder & Editor-in-ChiefPublished 7 minutes agoUpdated 7 minutes ago0 views

Meet Feather, the startup building the ‘Android of robotics’ for developers

Why It Matters

Feather is positioning itself as a developer-focused alternative to companies pursuing full-stack general-purpose humanoids, offering a lower-cost, modular platform that can run models from multiple AI providers and may accelerate a broader ecosystem of physical-AI applications.

Key Facts

Founders: Hoa Mai and Parsa Bakhtiari
Founded: 2025
Pre-seed funding: $7.6 million led by Gradient Ventures
Reported revenue: Over $1 million
Robot price: $30,000

Feather Robotics is developing a modular humanoid robot platform targeted at software developers who want to build and deploy physical-AI applications today. The startup, founded in 2025 by Hoa Mai and former Tesla Model 3 engineer Parsa Bakhtiari, offers hardware and an accompanying software toolkit that can be customized for different tasks—customers can, for example, adjust arm lengths to suit particular workflows.

Rather than attempting to deliver a complete general-purpose robot and proprietary AI stack at once, Feather’s approach prioritizes a deployable product that developers can iterate on. The company says its system can run models from a range of robotics AI providers, including Nvidia, Skild, and Physical Intelligence, enabling teams to pick the software stack that fits their needs.

Feather reported early commercial traction: it has exceeded $1 million in sales and says its robots are operating in roles such as restaurant cooks and laboratory cleaners, though it has not disclosed customer names. The business raised a $7.6 million pre-seed round led by Gradient Ventures and is preparing for a larger product launch after a year of field testing and iterative fixes.

Backers and founders point to Feather’s U.S.-based, modular design and its $30,000 price as strategic advantages. Gradient’s Darian Shirazi categorized the robotics market into household-robot startups, large companies pursuing general-purpose machines, and Feather’s niche: a modular humanoid platform for developers. The company also cites constraints on some foreign-made models entering the U.S. as a factor that could strengthen its position.

Feather is betting that the long-term value in robotics will arise from a diverse ecosystem of application builders using a common hardware platform. The founders expect the number of physical-AI application companies to grow substantially in coming years and aim for Feather to serve as the underlying developer platform for many of them.