Hustler Words – Gather AI, a pioneering firm leveraging artificial intelligence for advanced warehouse management through specialized cameras and autonomous drones, has successfully closed a $40 million Series B funding round. This significant investment was spearheaded by Smith Point Capital, the venture capital entity established by Keith Block, former co-CEO of Salesforce. This latest capital injection brings their total funding to an impressive $74 million, signaling strong market confidence in their innovative approach.
The core innovation at Gather AI lies in its "curious" artificial intelligence, a departure from conventional automated scanning. Co-founder and CEO Sankalp Arora explained to Hustler Words that his doctoral research centered on imbuing flying robots with a sense of curiosity. This translates into an AI system that doesn’t merely scan randomly but actively seeks out specific information, such as barcodes, lot codes, expiration dates, inventory counts, and signs of damage or misplaced items. The ultimate goal is to proactively identify and predict potential issues like low stock levels, misallocated goods, or even workflow inefficiencies that could pose safety risks.
This sophisticated AI operates using a unique blend of classical Bayesian techniques and neural networks, a foundation laid well before the widespread emergence of large language models (LLMs). Arora clarified that unlike typical end-to-end neural networks, Gather AI’s vision systems leverage probability-based methods. This allows the technology to learn and interpret visual data by integrating prior knowledge with new observations, effectively sidestepping the "hallucination" issues sometimes associated with LLMs. This approach enables the drones and cameras to "get curious," systematically gathering intelligence and making informed decisions on subsequent actions, a concept integral to the company’s very name.
Far from being an outdated methodology, Gather AI’s approach positions it at the forefront of "embodied AI" – systems that engage directly with the physical world, a distinct evolution from chat-based or web-app LLMs. This innovative stance was recognized in December when the startup secured the prestigious 2025 Nebius Robotics award for Vision AI and Streaming Video Analytics. The company’s deep roots in autonomous systems trace back to its four founders, who, as PhD students at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), developed groundbreaking autonomous helicopters, even testing them at the FBI training grounds in Quantico. Notably, lead investor Keith Block also serves as a trustee for CMU, highlighting a significant connection. In 2017, leveraging their expertise in safe autonomous flight, they launched Gather AI, deploying off-the-shelf cameras on forklifts and drones to monitor and log warehouse operations into existing management systems.
With a team of approximately 60 individuals, Gather AI is already making significant inroads, serving a diverse client base that includes industry giants like Kwik Trip, Axon, GEODIS, and NFI Industries. Their technology is particularly adept at operating in challenging conditions, such as frigid freezers and cold storage facilities, where human presence is often difficult or hazardous. The latest $40 million Series B round, led by Smith Point Capital, adds to previous investments from notable firms such as Bain Capital Ventures, XRC Ventures, and Hillman Investments, underscoring strong investor confidence in Gather AI’s unique vision for the future of logistics.
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