# Brad Porter

> Brad Porter is the Founder and CEO of Collaborative Robotics (Cobot), a Santa Clara-based startup building AI-powered collaborative robots designed to work alongside humans rather than replace them. After 14 years at Amazon — where he rose to VP of Robotics and Distinguished Engineer, deploying over 250,000 robots — Porter left to briefly serve as CTO at Scale AI before founding Cobot in May 2022. In under three years, he raised $140M in funding (including a $100M Series B led by General Catalyst in April 2024), launched the Proxie robot in November 2024, and signed customers including Mayo Clinic, Maersk, Moderna, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Collaborative Robotics (Cobot)
- **Organizations:** Collaborative Robotics (Cobot), Amazon, Scale AI, Tellme Networks, Netscape
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, MIT, Master of Engineering, Computer Science (6-3), MIT
- **Known for:** Deployed over 250,000 robots and launched 50+ products as VP of Amazon Robotics, Led a 10,000-person global robotics team at Amazon, Earned the title of Amazon Distinguished Engineer — one of only a handful company-wide

## Career timeline

- **1996** — Early career at Netscape — developed VRML extensions for Live3D and a backend web server template language
- **late 1990s** — Platform Architect at Tellme Networks, a voice search and telephony company later acquired by Microsoft
- **2007** — Joined Amazon as a senior engineer
- **2014** — Named Amazon Distinguished Engineer — a title held by only a handful of people company-wide
- **2017** — Promoted to VP of Amazon Robotics, leading a global team of 10,000+ and deploying 250,000+ robots
- **2020** — Departed Amazon after 14 years
- **2020** — Joined Scale AI as Chief Technology Officer
- **2022-05** — Founded Collaborative Robotics (Cobot) in Santa Clara, California
- **2023** — Raised initial funding from Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and others
- **2024-04** — Closed $100M Series B led by General Catalyst; total funding reached $140M
- **2024-06** — Opened Seattle office; hired Michael Vogelsong (Amazon AI co-founder) to lead foundation models research
- **2024-11** — Launched Proxie, Cobot's first commercial robot — a wheeled mobile manipulator with two arms
- **2024-12** — Cobot featured in AWS CEO Matt Garman's re:Invent 2024 keynote

## Achievements

- Deployed over 250,000 robots and launched 50+ products as VP of Amazon Robotics
- Led a 10,000-person global robotics team at Amazon
- Earned the title of Amazon Distinguished Engineer — one of only a handful company-wide
- Raised $140M in funding for Cobot within three years of founding
- Launched Proxie robot with customers including Mayo Clinic, Maersk, Moderna, Owens & Minor, Tampa General Hospital, and the U.S. Department of Defense
- Featured in AWS CEO Matt Garman's re:Invent 2024 keynote
- Publicly released Cobot's actual Series B pitch narrative on Medium
- Hosts 'Top of Mind with Brad Porter' podcast covering leadership and physical AI

## Latest updates

- **2024-12** — Cobot featured in AWS CEO Matt Garman's re:Invent 2024 keynote, cementing its status as a marquee AI-robotics company
- **2024-11** — Launched Proxie, Cobot's first commercial robot with Glide 360 mobility and Scout Sense situational awareness systems
- **2024-06** — Opened Seattle office and hired Michael Vogelsong to lead Foundation Models AI research
- **2024-04** — Closed $100M Series B led by General Catalyst; Mayo Clinic and Moderna among investors and customers

## Links

- Website: https://co.bot
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-porter-1a989/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/bradporter_

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brad-porter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13