Tesla Engineers Transition to New Robotics Start-up Amid Talent Exodus

Tesla's AI and robotics divisions are currently experiencing a significant talent exodus, as engineers from its Optimus and Autopilot teams transition to a new robotics start-up called Sunday Robotics.

According to Electrek, Sunday Robotics emerged from stealth with a funding round of $35 million, led by Benchmark and Conviction. The start-up was founded by Stanford roboticists Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi, with Zhao having previously interned at Tesla Autopilot.

Notable engineers who have left Tesla to join Sunday Robotics include Nishant Desai, a nearly five-year veteran working on Autopilot and Full Self-Driving; Nadeesha Amarasinghe, the former Engineering Lead for AI Infrastructure; and Perry Jia, a key engineer on the Optimus and Autopilot programs.

This shift is particularly striking because, unlike larger companies that typically attract talent with high compensation packages, Sunday Robotics is a small start-up with limited funding. This trend indicates a possible shift in the competitive landscape for AI and robotics talent, as companies like Sunday are successfully recruiting top engineers from industry giants. Sunday Robotics distinguishes itself by focusing on a wheeled domestic robot named Memo, designed to handle household chores such as cleaning dishes and folding laundry.

This approach diverges from Tesla's ambition of developing bipedal humanoid robots. By forgoing legs, Sunday Robotics claims they can enhance dexterity and reliability. Memo is trained on a dataset of 10 million behavioral episodes, which the company likens to a 'ChatGPT moment for physical movement.' One significant difference in methodology is how data is collected for training robots.

Tesla employs VR teleoperation suits that allow operators to mimic tasks in a controlled lab environment, a method that is high-fidelity but also slow and costly. In contrast, Sunday Robotics uses a $200 Skill Capture Glove, distributed to hundreds of individuals who recorded themselves performing household chores in their own environments.

This crowdsourced approach has enabled Sunday to gather extensive real-world data at a fraction of the cost, including scenarios with messy kitchens and unpredictable lighting. This exodus of talent from Tesla to a smaller start-up like Sunday Robotics highlights broader trends within the tech industry, where companies are fiercely competing for skilled professionals.

Elon Musk has made bold claims about Tesla's leading position in AI and robotics, suggesting they will soon produce Optimus robots in the millions, aiming to tackle poverty. However, many experts remain skeptical about these assertions, noting significant challenges in making humanoid robots practical at scale.

In contrast, Sunday Robotics has adopted a more pragmatic strategy that may resonate better with engineers seeking realistic project goals, leading to this notable migration of talent.