Sanctuary AI secures strategic financing to advance AI in humanoid robotics

Sanctuary AI CTPO Olivia Norton and one of Sanctuary’s Phoenix general purpose humanoid robots. (Credit: CNW Group/Sanctuary AI)

Sanctuary AI has announced a significant investment from BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund and InBC Investment Corp, bringing Sanctuary’s total investment to more than $140 million.

Sanctuary AI—a Vancouver-based company on a mission “to create the world’s first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots”—highlighted the transformative potential of AI in robotics, especially in the context of an aging population and evolving work dynamics. “With aging populations, plummeting birth rates, and a changing view on work, intelligent embodied systems, or general-purpose robots, will play an important role in provincial and national productivity,” Sanctuary AI CEO and CTO Olivia Norton said.

She emphasized that Canada has the opportunity to lead globally in this sector.

BDC Capital and InBC, a strategic investment fund created by the Province of British Columbia, are backing Sanctuary AI. Michelle Scarborough, managing partner at BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund, expressed enthusiasm about supporting Sanctuary AI. “We’re proud to invest in Canada’s most innovative women-led businesses, like Sanctuary AI, that are disrupting today’s market.”

Sanctuary AI’s existing investors include prominent organizations such as Accenture, Bell, Export Development Canada, Evok Innovations, Magna, SE Health, Verizon Ventures and Workday Ventures. The company also received a $30 million Strategic Innovation Fund contribution from the Government of Canada in November 2022.

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