Tesla is witnessing a significant shift in its internal dynamics as key engineers and leaders from its Autopilot and Optimus teams are making their way to a newly emerged startup called Sunday Robotics. This move isn’t just any standard poaching scenario; it’s an unexpected departure of talent towards a small, under-the-radar company rather than large tech giants or established automotive players.
Despite being a relatively unknown entity until recently, Sunday Robotics has managed to secure $35 million in funding from Benchmark and Conviction. The startup is led by Stanford roboticists Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi, who are bringing with them an impressive roster of talent from Tesla’s machine learning team. Among the notable departures include Nishant Desai, a long-time member of Tesla’s Autopilot team; Nadeesha Amarasinghe, former Engineering Lead for AI Infrastructure at Tesla responsible for backend systems training FSD and Optimus; and Perry Jia, who was pivotal in leading data engine programs at Tesla.
This mass exodus is not just random attrition but a strategic move to build out a full stack of robotic and AI expertise. Sunday Robotics is positioning itself as an innovator in the field with its debut robot, Memo, which is designed for household chores without relying on bipedal locomotion like Tesla’s Optimus. By focusing on wheeled movement, Sunday claims they can enhance dexterity and reliability.
The technical differences between these two companies become evident when discussing data collection methods. While Tesla heavily relies on VR teleoperation suits to train its robots, Sunday Robotics has developed a $200 ‘Skill Capture Glove’ that enables real-world data collection in messy household environments. This approach involves distributing gloves to ordinary people who record themselves performing tasks such as cleaning dishes or folding laundry.
As we reported earlier this year on the growing competition for AI talent, Tesla now finds itself competing not only with giants like Google and Amazon but also with emerging startups like Sunday Robotics. The shift in focus towards domestic robotics is a clear indication of the changing landscape within the tech industry, where innovation often comes from unexpected quarters.
