Enigma raises $71 million for robot control foundation models

Jul 27, 2026

Enigma, a robotics AI lab, has raised a $71 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital. Co-founded by Israeli Unit 8200 veterans Jonathan Jacobi and Gal Niv, Enigma is building foundation models for robots. The company is launching a large-scale online experiment with over 100 proprietary robots to study human-robot interaction and develop more intuitive control interfaces.

Enigma seed funding round

▪The funding round for Enigma was led by Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital.
▪Robotics research lab Enigma raised a $71 million seed round to finance its mission.
▪Sarah Guo of Conviction Partners also participated in Enigma's $71 million seed round.

Human-robot interaction research

▪Enigma hopes data from its public experiment will reveal superior interfaces and better ways to train its foundational AI model.
▪Enigma's research focuses on how humans engage with robots to develop intuitive interfaces.
▪Co-founder Jonathan Jacobi stated the goal is to make human-robot interactions completely effortless and as intuitive as adjusting a car's volume knob.

Public online robot experiment

▪The experiment will test various communication methods, including text, audio, video examples, and tap-and-drag interfaces.
▪Enigma's robots can perform tasks like drawing with a paintbrush, sword fighting, and simple chemistry experiments.
▪Enigma is launching a large-scale experiment allowing anyone to interact online with over 100 of its proprietary AI robots.

Founder background

▪An investor described the founders as "outsiders" to the robotics industry, which may afford them more originality.
▪Enigma was co-founded by Jonathan Jacobi, Microsoft's youngest-ever employee, and Gal Niv.
▪The Enigma team includes alumni from top AI labs, math Olympiad winners, and people who dropped out of PhD programs.
▪Co-founders Jonathan Jacobi and Gal Niv met as teens in hacking competitions and later served together in Israel's elite Unit 8200.

Proprietary robot hardware

▪The company has built over 100 proprietary AI robots, which are housed in hangars in Israel and California.
▪Enigma claims to have developed its robotic arms entirely from the ground up.

Foundation model development

▪Enigma is partnering with companies in healthcare, logistics, and entertainment on potential use cases for its AI.
▪The startup developed its underlying AI models entirely from the ground up.
▪Enigma is a research lab building foundation models for robots to execute tasks they were not explicitly trained for.