Robots are getting quite sophisticated, but their ability to cooperate in unpredictable, unstructured environments is still limited.

This has kept many dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs in human hands, despite the benefits of automation.

AvaWatz is paving the way for automation in a range of industries — and potentially reshaping the future of dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs.

Note: This issue is sponsored by AvaWatz, with research & due diligence performed by the Alts team. Even if you're not into AI or robotics, we'll simplify this world for you. As always, we think you’ll find it informative and fair.

Let’s go 👇

What does AvaWatz actually do?

The show ​Dirty Jobs​ may be difficult to replicate in the future (unless you want to see Mike Rowe talking to a bunch of robots).

While it wouldn't make for great TV material, it’s hard to argue that robots doing more dirty jobswouldn’t be a net positive for humans.

But this transition won't happen on its own. And this is where ​AvaWatz​ comes in.

Founder and CEO Dr. Rajini Anachi and her team are developing AI that enables different types of robots to work together in unpredictable, unstructured environments (i.e., outside & exposed to the elements).

Think of it like creating the robot equivalent of a dream team, where each member has its own specialized skills but can communicate with each other accomplish complex tasks. (We’re not saying they could win gold in the ’92 Summer Olympics, but we’re not saying they couldn’t.)

In all seriousness, here's the real-world example that led to the development of one of AvaWatz’s products.

Dr. Anachi was visiting a US airbase in Qatar. As they walked the length of the 3,750-meter runway under the scorching sun, the commanding officer explained the problem they were trying to solve for…

Runways must be kept completely clean to avoid damaging planes during takeoff and landing.

Now, this task is typically done either manually or with error-prone heavy machinery — a dangerous, time-consuming, and inefficient process. Even a small piece of debris inadvertently left on the runway could be deadly.

AvaWatz's solution was to create robots working together as a team to identify and remove the debris.

Dr. Rajini and her team developed a system that allows drones equipped with special cameras and sensors to scan the entire runway for debris while ground robots follow up to clean and remove the detected objects.

Sounds simple, right?

Well it turns out this task requires a high level of coordination and decision-making between different types of robots.

And that's precisely what AvaWatz's solution enables.

But AvaWatz is more than just cleaning up runways.

See, if robots can successfully work together in unpredictable environments, they can help solve problems facing all sorts of businesses and industries.

The problems with robotics

1) Robots don't usually collaborate

The overarching problem AvaWatz is addressing is a critical limitation of current robotics — the ability for robots to collaborate to solve complex problems, especially in unstructured and unpredictable environments.

We've all seen footage of robots thriving in controlled settings like assembly floors and warehouses.

But they struggle with the unpredictability of outdoor environments. Changing weather, varying lighting conditions, and complex terrains. Often times it’s in these unpredictable settings where humans would benefit most from robotic assistance.

Most robots are designed to perform specific tasks individually. They’re typically pre-programmed with ​rigid code​ that doesn’t support effective collaboration, and they generally lack the ability to make "group decisions" or adapt to changing circumstances as a team.

This limitation has kept many high-risk, tedious, or time-sensitive tasks in human hands, despite the inherent safety and efficiency benefits of automation.

These tasks exist across military and commercial operating environments. We're talking about removing hazards, to monitoring security cameras, to avoiding obstacles, to dangerous situations can be improved and made safer by teams of robots working together.

Most AI models that support the teams of robots aren’t capable of reliably performing these kinds of tasks.

2) AI hallucinations

If you can’t trust the accuracy of your AI model, it’s not very useful.

As you’ve probably heard by now, biases and hallucinations are some of the biggest challenges AI models are grappling with today.

Last year, ​two lawyers in New York were fined $5,000​ for submitting a legal brief that included six fake case citations, all of which were hallucinated by ChatGPT.

In a ​recent survey​, companies in the US using large language models (LLMs) reported data inaccuracies and hallucinations from their models 50% of the time.

AvaWatz’s solutions address these key issues, supporting the development of more robust, reliable, and trustworthy AI models.

Achieving success rates high enough to be suitable for problems where biases or hallucinations could have serious consequences requires high fidelity machine learning models. Of course, the challenge is that training these models can be prohibitively time and cost intensive.

Meanwhile, workplace fatalities are on the rise:

Given the level of technological advancement over the last 10 years, you probably would've thought work-related injuries and fatalities are on the decline, right?

Yeah, us too.

It’s simple: The more dangerous jobs that robots can do, the safer our workplaces will be.

So, what does AvaWatz do differently and how are they able to solve these problems?

AvaWatz's solutions

AvaWatz offers solutions in two key areas:

Let’s take a look:

AI Enabler Services

This is AvaWatz's platform for developing high-precision AI models.

​GENIE​ tackles the "long tail problem" in machine learning — the challenge of improving model accuracy beyond 80-85% without exponentially increasing costs and time.

To translate, "labeling" is like adding tags or descriptions to things so a computer can understand them better. It's like putting labels on boxes in a storage room so you know what's inside each one without having to open them all.

In the context of AI and machine learning, it means adding specific information to data (like images, text, or sounds) so that the computer can learn from it.

The key here is that GENIE’s guided labeling allows you to train machine learning models with 5-10x fewer labels (!).

Dr. Anachi put it this way,

Think of GENIE as the engine that powers (or trains) AvaWatz’s solutions tailored to specific use cases.

GENIE’s practical applications span multiple sectors where high-accuracy AI is critical:

Similar to how GENIE improves the training process for AI/ML models, the ​FALCON​ platform is designed to make these models more trustworthy and reliable.

FALCON can:

This video shows how FALCON can detect and correct for errors in object tracking:

In a nutshell, GENIE and FALCON address critical issues around biases and hallucinations that plague many AI models.

AvaWatz's AI Enabler solutions allow for faster and more effective training, supporting the development of high precision AI models that you can trust.

AI Systems

​HAYA​ is an example of an AvaWatz solution tailored to a specific use case.

HAYA is AvaWatz’s airfield safety system that combines air and ground robots for efficient hazard detection and removal on airport runways and taxiways.

This automated solution streamlines inspections, identifies potential dangers like debris or surface damage, and can quickly remediate any issues.

Similar to HAYA, ​ARWEN​ is AvaWatz's solution for security and surveillance applications.

ARWEN uses AI for real-time threat detection, provides analytics for actionable insights, and offers tools for post-event analysis.

Imagine being responsible for the safety of tens of thousands of people at a public event or concert. Whether you’re the head of security at O’Hare Airport or Madison Square Garden, you need to make sure you’re doing everything you can to ensure public safety.

While not necessarily directly related to robot collaboration, ARWEN showcases AvaWatz's capabilities in developing AI systems for complex, real-world applications.

Here’s a quick video explaining how it works:

​DARI​ is AvaWatz's solution for enhancing ground vehicle mobility and survivability.

This system enables autonomous mobile robots to navigate unstructured, unmapped environments and avoid obstacles in harsh conditions, both indoors and outdoors.

DARI also allows robots to recognize potential threats to their human partners, providing crucial warnings and guidance.

By improving situational awareness and decision-making capabilities, DARI significantly enhances the safety and effectiveness of human-robot teams in challenging operational environments.

Current and future applications

AvaWatz’s solutions have wide-ranging applications across different industries.

Here are some we’ve touched on already as well as few others:

Given the company’s positioning on the cutting edge of AI/ML technology, coupled with the plethora of potential applications for their products, AvaWatz’s total addressable market (TAM) is pretty big.

Let’s take a closer look at their opportunity set.

Opportunity set

AvaWatz is positioning itself at the intersection of several large and rapidly growing markets.

We all know by now that investment in the development and advancement of AI is going to be (and in many ways already is) massive.

Now let's put some numbers around it.

Analysts at Dell’Oro Group expect companies to ​spend as much as $1 trillion​ on AI-related infrastructure investments within the next 5 years alone.

The global AI market is obviously enormous, and it’s projected to get even bigger.

AI market

According to Precedence Research, the global AI market is expected to grow at a ​CAGR of 19%​, from $538 billion today (sheesh, that's it?) to over $2.5 trillion in 2032.

Robotics market

The global robotics market was estimated at $82 billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $283 billion by 2032 – a CAGR of ~15%.

AI robotics market

Drilling down a level further, the AI market for robotics, valued at $14 billion in 2023, is expected to grow over 5x to $82 billion by 2032.

Military robotics market

Government spending on robotics is ramping up too.

The US Department of Defense's ​investment​ of roughly $5.5 billion in unmanned technology and associated technologies in 2020 demonstrates the growing importance of autonomous systems in defense strategies.

According to Global Market Insights, the Military Robotics and Autonomous Systems Market is projected to grow at a ​CAGR of over 10%​ between 2024 and 2032, driven by technological advancements and the increasing need for intelligent solutions in defense and security operations.

The Pentagon's Replicator program, aimed at developing and deploying autonomous systems at scale, received ​$500 million​ in the 2024 budget, with a similar amount proposed for 2025, indicating the U.S. government’s continued commitment to these technologies.

Importantly, AvaWatz's focus on solutions for cooperative robot teams to tackle dirty and dangerous problems addresses a major gap in the market.

However, the projected growth and size of these industries attracts competition.

So how does AvaWatz set itself apart?

Competitive analysis

In the competitive landscape of AI and robotics, AvaWatz’s focus on enabling robots to collaborate and solve complex problems in unstructured and unpredictable environments is a key differentiator.

It’s unclear whether anyone else is working on or has already developed similar solutions, but AvaWatz could potentially face competition from both established robotics companies like Boston Dynamics as well as from startups like Osaro.

The company also has indirect competitors like Locus Robotics, inVia Robotics, Badger Technologies, and Savioke in various sectors.

But AvaWatz differentiates itself by focusing on building teams of robots with different capabilities to perform complex tasks outside (as opposed to in a factory or warehouse, which is where most of their competitors focus).

This, coupled with strong backing and an experienced team, provides a competitive edge in the rapidly growing market for AI robotics. The increasing demand for collaborative robots and autonomous systems across industries, especially in defense and security, presents significant growth opportunities.

AvaWatz has the potential to carve out a distinct niche and establish itself as a key player in the evolving robotics landscape.

Performance & pipeline

AvaWatz’s innovative AI robotics solutions are garnering promising early interest.

The company boasts contract awards from several US military and defense agencies:

On the commercial side, AvaWatz is currently deployed and is running several pilot programs for commercial clients.

AvaWatz also has a laudable sales pipeline, which currently exceeds $16 million (the company aims to book revenues on approximately 8-10% of this value in the near term).

Fundraising & capital deployment plans

Since its founding in 2019, AvaWatz has successfully raised over $4.5 million, including:

AvaWatz is now looking to raise up to $5 million of new capital.

Details:

The company’s planned approach to deploying this capital is split between:

Closing thoughts

AvaWatz is pioneering collaborative AI for robots in unpredictable environments – a potential game-changer for many dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs.

With early defense contracts and growing commercial interest, they're well-positioned to benefit from the massive business and government spending in the AI and robotics markets.

Their challenge now? Turning promising tech into greater adoption and recurring revenue.

For investors, AvaWatz offers exposure to cutting-edge AI with diverse applications, but carries the risks typical of early-stage tech companies.

If AvaWatz succeeds, they could redefine how we approach some of society's most challenging tasks.

That's it for today. Reply with comments, we read everything.

See you next time,
Mike

Disclosures

This issue is a sponsored deep dive, meaning Alts has been paid to write an independent analysis of Avawatz. Avawatz has agreed to offer an unconstrained look at its business, offerings, and operations. Avawatz is also a sponsor of Alts, but our research is neutral and unbiased. This should not be considered financial, legal, tax, or investment advice, but rather an independent analysis to help readers make their own investment decisions. All opinions expressed here are ours, and ours alone. We hope you find it informative and fair.