# Grace Brown

> Grace Brown is the Australian mechatronics engineer, co-founder and CEO of Andromeda, the company behind Abi, a colorful social humanoid designed for companionship in care settings. After beginning the project during Melbourne's pandemic lockdowns, Brown tested the idea with local care homes, built a multidisciplinary robotics company, raised a A$23 million Series A in 2025, and expanded Andromeda into San Francisco while maintaining engineering and manufacturing operations in Melbourne.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Andromeda
- **Organizations:** Andromeda, University of Melbourne, Startmate, AWS Robotics Startup Accelerator, MassRobotics
- **Nationality:** Australian
- **Education:** Mechatronics engineering, University of Melbourne
- **Known for:** Co-founded Andromeda and led Abi from a student passion project into commercial deployments., Raised a A$23 million Series A led by Forerunner Ventures in 2025., Named to Forbes Australia's inaugural 30 Under 30 list in 2024.

## Career timeline

- **2015** — Began building robots at age 15 after an engineering class introduced her to a hydraulic arm, Arduino and MATLAB.
- **2021** — Won the Vogue Codes Future Innovators Award and developed the early idea that became Abi while studying mechatronics.
- **2022** — Co-founded Andromeda with university friend and electrical engineer Yan Chen; joined Startmate and began validating Abi with care homes.
- **2023** — Andromeda added its first engineer and raised pre-seed financing led by Galileo Ventures.
- **2024** — Andromeda raised a A$3 million seed round led by Purpose Ventures; Brown was named to Forbes Australia's inaugural 30 Under 30 list.
- **2025** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in Industry, Manufacturing & Energy; Andromeda raised a A$23 million Series A led by Forerunner Ventures.
- **2025** — Relocated to San Francisco to establish Andromeda's U.S. presence while the company continued operating in Melbourne.
- **2026** — Expanded the California team and continued deploying Abi in Australia and the United States; Andromeda moved into a larger Melbourne manufacturing facility.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Andromeda and led Abi from a student passion project into commercial deployments.
- Raised a A$23 million Series A led by Forerunner Ventures in 2025.
- Named to Forbes Australia's inaugural 30 Under 30 list in 2024.
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in Industry, Manufacturing & Energy in 2025.
- Selected for the AWS Robotics Startup Accelerator.
- Won the Vogue Codes Future Innovators Award in 2021.
- Recognized among the Top 50 Women in Robotics and Australia's Top 100 Innovators.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Scheduled to speak at AUTONOMOUS: The Future of Robotics & Physical AI in San Francisco.
- **2026-06** — Andromeda moved into a 2,500-square-metre Melbourne facility as it prepared to increase Abi production.
- **2026-06** — Brown said Andromeda had a California team of just under 10 people and was evaluating its next manufacturing phase.
- **2026-04** — Andromeda continued expanding Abi deployments in Australia and the United States.
- **2025-09** — Andromeda announced a A$23 million Series A led by Forerunner Ventures, supporting production growth and U.S. expansion.

## Links

- Website: https://andromedarobotics.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-brown-619b59161/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grace.jbrown/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/grace-brown
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-18