OpenMind

OpenMind is a robotics and artificial intelligence startup based in San Francisco that develops software infrastructure intended to let robots from different manufacturers operate and cooperate on a shared layer. Its two principal products are OM1, an open-source, hardware-agnostic operating system for intelligent machines, and FABRIC, a decentralized coordination protocol. OM1 is described as enabling robots of varied form factors to perceive, adapt and act in human environments, while FABRIC provides a mechanism for machines to verify identity, share context and collaborate securely across environments; the company likens FABRIC's functions to a peer-to-peer combination of GPS, VPN and handshake layer, and describes its overall ambition as building the equivalent of Android for robots.

The company frames its focus as intelligence infrastructure rather than robot hardware, arguing that current robots are confined to single-vendor ecosystems that limit collaboration. According to founder and CEO Jan Liphardt, the software is architected around multiple large language models running simultaneously — a typical deployment is said to involve at least ten models handling vision, hearing, speech generation, information fusion and contextual decision-making — with motion control largely left to existing frameworks such as ROS2. Target application areas cited by the company include smart manufacturing, humanoid robots and autonomous transport.

Founding story

The company's origins are described by founder Jan Liphardt as beginning with his own work writing software for quadruped (robotic dog) platforms, prompted by the observation that large language models can generate movement commands for physical systems such as cars, planes and humanoid robots. He chose to open-source that software on the reasoning that, given the pace of advancement, it was important for people to be able to see how such machines reason and make decisions.

Business model

OpenMind positions itself as a horizontal infrastructure provider for the robotics industry, supplying an open-source, hardware-agnostic operating system (OM1) and a decentralized coordination network (FABRIC) that third-party robots can install rather than manufacturing robots itself. The sources do not describe pricing or how the company monetizes these products.

Traction

Public traction disclosed in the sources is limited to the $20 million financing announced in August 2025 and the stated intent to expand engineering headcount and partnerships. No customer counts, deployment numbers or revenue figures are reported.

Latest developments

On 4 August 2025 OpenMind announced a $20 million funding round led by Pantera Capital, to be used to scale its engineering team, extend global partnerships and bring OM1 and FABRIC to market.