Diligent Robotics Strengthens Leadership with Cruise Alums for Scaled Growth
Diligent Robotics is seriously leveling up! They've just snagged two top executives from Cruise, GM's self-driving car division. This is a big move as Diligent aims to expand the use of its Moxi robots in hospitals and pharmacies. Basically, they're gearing up to take things to the next level.
Rashed Haq, formerly VP and Head of AI and Robotics at Cruise, is now Diligent's CTO. And Todd Brugger, Cruise's ex-COO, steps in as Diligent's COO. It sounds like a dream team, right?
Andrea Thomaz, Diligent's CEO, mentioned that now's the perfect time to bring in this kind of leadership. With around 100 Moxi robots already doing their thing in healthcare facilities, assisting with tasks that don't involve direct patient care, the focus is shifting to massive scaling. They're talking about really ramping things up by the end of this year and into the next.
Thomaz emphasized Haq's AI skills and his experience in making complex AI actually work in the real world, which he demonstrated with Cruise's autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, she appreciated Brugger's success in scaling Cruise from the ground up, which felt like the perfect match for Diligent's needs.
Haq and Brugger both said Diligent was a natural fit for them after Cruise. The robotics company is in full deployment mode, and the tech isn't all that different from what they were doing with self-driving cars. Haq even pointed out that autonomous vehicles are, at their core, mobile robots with a different name.
Brugger was also drawn to the operational challenges and priorities at Diligent, which he sees as similar to those at Cruise. From his perspective, it all starts with safety, then reliability, and finally, refining the product-market fit. I think its a very sensible approach.
Founded back in 2017, Diligent Robotics is making waves in healthcare. The Moxi robots are currently deployed in over 25 healthcare networks, and the company has raised over $90 million in funding. It's clear they're on a mission to revolutionize how things work in hospitals and pharmacies. I am pretty sure we will be seeing more news from them pretty soon.
Source: TechCrunch