CEO Jonathan Scholz of Reimagine Robotics with the startup’s system. Source: Reimagine Robotics
Artificial intelligence is enabling robots to learn on the job, according to Reimagine Robotics Ltd. The startup, which emerged from stealth today, is developing technology that it claimed anyone can train and use.
“A useful robot should be able to learn from the person doing the work,” stated Jonathan Scholz, co-founder and CEO of Reimagine Robotics. “They should be able to show it a task, put it right when it makes a mistake, and move on to the next problem. That is what it means for a robot to learn on the job. It’s a process we call ‘monkey-see, monkey-do.’”
Scholz founded Google DeepMind’s Applied Robotics team in London and led it for seven years. He later co-founded Reimagine Robotics in April 2025 alongside former colleagues Oleg Sushkov, Akhil Raju, and Misha Denil, with headquarters in London and Sydney.
Reimagine Robotics relies on human instruction
Instead of requiring specialist programmers whenever a task or production process changes, Reimagine Robotics said it allows workers can show the robot what to do, watch it attempt the task, and then correct it on the spot.
“A robot should arrive with the attitude of a new colleague: ‘How can I help? What do you want me to do?’” said Scholz. “The people who understand the process should be able to answer those questions by showing the robot directly.”
Throughout its deployments, Reimagine Robotics said people remain central to its model.
“For us, this is not about taking people out of the process,” he added. “A robot that learns on the job depends on people. The worker identifies the bottleneck, shows the robot how to help, and corrects it until it is useful.”
“Instead of someone having to repeat a tedious physical task thousands of times, they can teach the robot, and apply that ability wherever it is needed,” Scholz asserted. “I think of it more as a tool to amplify human labor.”
Save the date for RoboBusiness 2026Robots already on the factory floor
Reimagine Robotics’ first phase was funded by pre-seed financing from Fly Ventures, firstminute capital, and a number of angel investors. The company has already deployed its robots in advanced manufacturing and electronics disassembly facilities.
At a made-to-order plastics business, Reimagine Robotics trained its robots to tend 3D printers overnight by removing print beds, operating latches, and pressing controls. The customer’s own team used the platform to automate additional stages, including washing, curing, and drying.
In a separate deployment involving the recovery of valuable critical materials from used hard drives, Reimagine Robotics worked with process engineers to develop a three-robot disassembly cell. It combined robots and people to optimize the workflow in real time.
During the project, Reimagine Robotics said it reduced the time required to prototype and test a new robot behavior from approximately one day to about 10 minutes. That allowed teams to propose a new use for a robot and test their ideas almost immediately, it said.
Next phase includes fundraising, scaling
“We’re excited to come out of stealth. This last year was about building a core product and a team, and working with customers to test the platform,” said Scholz. “After working with several partners, we’re absolutely convinced it’s not only viable, but that there is a need for this technology, and that it has massive potential across an array of industrial and manufacturing settings.”
“This next stage is about a new round of fundraising; expanding our team for more deployment muscle; putting robots into more workplaces; and showing that each deployment can make the next one faster, more reliable, and more efficient,” he said.
Other companies using human operators to train AI models for robots include 1X Technologies, AgiBot, Apptronik, BriainCo, NEURA Robotics, Sanctuary AI, and Tutor Intelligence.
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