Company
Tetsuwan Scientific
Tetsuwan Scientific is a San Francisco-based startup developing autonomous AI scientists that merge robotics and artificial intelligence to conduct laboratory…
- Founded
- 2023
- HQ
- San Francisco, CA, USA
Funding
$2.7M
Models
1
Overview
Tetsuwan Scientific is a San Francisco-based startup developing autonomous AI scientists that merge robotics and artificial intelligence to conduct laboratory experiments independently. Founded in 2023 by Cristian Ponce (CEO) and Theo Schafer (CTO), the company's AI-powered robotic systems use modified white-label lab robots to perform high-sophistication tasks, react to data, reason, and make decisions. Tetsuwan has deployed its inaugural autonomous AI system in a rare disease gene therapeutics lab.
Verified record
- Verified deployments
- None on file
- Active incidents
- None on file
DEPLOY Intelligence
Market intelligence for physical AI
Analyst-grade signals, competitive tracking, and investment context across the global physical AI landscape. Launching 2026.
Key facts
CEO
Cristian Ponce (Co-founder, Caltech biological engineering)
CTO
Theo Schafer (Co-founder, ETH Zurich / MIT)
Pre-seed
$2.7M (November 2024, led by 2048 Ventures)
Team size
7 people (Caltech, ETH Zurich, MIT, UC Davis)
Advisor
Aaron Kimball (former CTO of Zymergen)
Data & sources
Web sources
1
1 source backing this record.View all →
Models (1)
View all models →Tetsuwan Scientific on the deployment map
Where Tetsuwan Scientific's robots are verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.
Relationships
Current leadership (2)
- Theo Schafer CTO & Co-founderreported, not verified
- Cristian Ponce CEO & Co-founderreported, not verified
Founders (2)
- Cristian Poncecofounder
- Theo Schafercofounder
Safety record
No incidents on record for Tetsuwan Scientific.
Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.
Full safety record: incidents, sourcing, and exposure data →
Recent coverage
Tetsuwan Scientific in third-party press
Peer companies
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- ATI Industrial Automation2 models
- August Robotics2 models
- Embodied2 models
- EverestLabs2 models
Financial state
- Reporting basis
- private_reported
- Lifecycle stage
- early
- Counterparty risk class
- moderate
Each numeric field carries its own basis marker. Aggregators report a number; this surface preserves the source class so verification depth travels with the value.
Funding rounds (1)
- Seed2024-11-19
$3M(reported)
Investors: 2048 Ventures, Carbon Silicon, Everywhere Ventures
Sources (1)
Common questions
- What is Tetsuwan Scientific?
- Tetsuwan Scientific is a San Francisco-based startup developing autonomous AI scientists that merge robotics and artificial intelligence to conduct laboratory experiments independently. Founded in 2023 by Cristian Ponce (CEO) and Theo Schafer (CTO), the company's AI-powered robotic systems use modified white-label lab robots to perform high-sophistication tasks, react to data, reason, and make decisions. Tetsuwan has deployed its inaugural autonomous AI system in a rare disease gene therapeutics lab.
- What does Tetsuwan Scientific make?
- Tetsuwan Scientific has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: Tetsuwan AI Scientist (Tetsuwan Scientific builds physical robots).
- Who competes with Tetsuwan Scientific?
- On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Tetsuwan Scientific building in the same form factors include DJI, Boston Dynamics, ATI Industrial Automation, August Robotics.
- Where is Tetsuwan Scientific headquartered?
- Tetsuwan Scientific is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, USA.
- How much funding has Tetsuwan Scientific raised?
- Tetsuwan Scientific has raised approximately $3M in disclosed funding on record in the DEPLOY registry.
- Where does Tetsuwan Scientific operate robots?
- Tetsuwan Scientific is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
- Is Tetsuwan Scientific a top robotics company?
- On DEPLOY's intelligence score, which blends verified deployments, funding, hiring, media, safety, and IP signals, Tetsuwan Scientific ranks in roughly the top 44% of companies tracked by the registry.
- Is Tetsuwan Scientific safe?
- Tetsuwan Scientific has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-06
Verification posture
Verified
Low confidence
Review state
Stable
Last reviewed 2026-07-06
Sources by quality tier
- 1
- unclassified
- Unclassified source
The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.
Methodology surface for Tetsuwan Scientific.Peer companies
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- ATI Industrial Automation2 models
- August Robotics2 models
- Embodied2 models
- EverestLabs2 models
In the press
Recent coverage mentioning Tetsuwan Scientific from third-party publications. Automatically surfaced; not part of the verified registry record.
Tetsuwan Scientific is making robotic AI scientists that can run experiments on their own
TechCrunch profiled Tetsuwan Scientific, which modifies lower-cost white-label lab robots to create autonomous AI scientists capable of running experiments independently,…
First Autonomous Robotic Scientist Hits Labs as Tetsuwan Scientific Secures $2.7M
Tetsuwan Scientific closed an oversubscribed $2.7M pre-seed round led by 2048 Ventures, with its inaugural autonomous AI system now operational in a rare disease gene therapeutics…
Machine-readable surfaces
- Markdown mirror: /companies/tetsuwan-scientific.md
- RSS feed: /companies/tetsuwan-scientific/feed.xml
- JSON-LD: embedded in this page’s head
- REST API: /v1/companies/1678a465-90a4-4979-a518-932900565343
- Revision history: /companies/tetsuwan-scientific/history
- Data documentation: /data
- Query this programmatically: Deploy MCP
Peer companies
- DJI7 models
- Boston Dynamics5 models
- ATI Industrial Automation2 models
- August Robotics2 models
- Embodied2 models
- EverestLabs2 models
Reality vs attention
Tetsuwan Scientific draws attention at the 31st percentile but verifies reality at the insufficient-data level among other robots.
6-month trend
Analysis
Limited public visibility and press coverage relative to peers.
Dimension breakdown
Verified signal
Attention (reach, not merit)
DEPLOY Intelligence scores are computed from verified registry data: confirmed deployments, disclosed funding rounds, regulatory filings, active job listings, video viewership, and press coverage. Confidence ratings reflect data availability. Scores update nightly.
DEPLOY Indices — verified vs claimed
Last computed: Jul 14, 2026