Vassar Robotics
"Open-source semi-humanoid dev kit to home data to autonomy"
San Francisco robotics startup founded 2025 by Charles Yong; YC X25-backed maker of the Navrim robot arm kit and direct-drive actuator hardware.
Vassar Robotics is a robotics startup founded in 2025 by Charles Yong and based in San Francisco, California. The company went through Y Combinator's X25 batch and raised a $500,000 seed round in June 2025 backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator.
The company's first product, Navrim, is a leader-follower robot arm kit built on the open-source LeRobot SO-101 design and sold assembled or as an unassembled kit, with pricing that moved from an initial $199-$219 introductory offer to $440-$500 by late 2025. Navrim pairs two onboard 480p cameras with a motion-control-policy server that lets a user teach the arm a new manipulation task through physical demonstration in about 30 minutes without writing code. Beyond Navrim, the company is developing its own actuator hardware: a gearbox-free joint built around a transverse-flux direct-drive motor, shown in a Phase 1 prototype rated at 3 newton-meters of torque, 500 RPM, and a 60-millimeter housing diameter, intended to remove gear backlash so that motor current maps directly to output torque.
Vassar Robotics describes a staged roadmap toward general-purpose home robotics: ship an accessible developer kit, use it to collect real-world manipulation data from homes and labs, and apply that data to train more capable autonomous control policies. The company publishes parts of its software stack in public code repositories.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Navrim Robot Arm
- Model: Navrim
- Launch Year: 2025
Ultra-affordable open-source robot arm powered by AI foundation models, enabling skill teaching through physical demonstration in under 30 minutes.
Gearbox-Free Robot Arm
Transverse-Flux Direct-Drive Motor
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Contact Vassar Robotics
WEBSITE
https://vassarrobotics.comHEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2025
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
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