# Schuyler Cullen

> Schuyler Cullen is the co-founder and CEO of Summer Robotics, a Campbell, California machine-vision company building Kortx, a camera-free perception system that uses lasers and event sensors to give robots animal-like sight at 100Hz, 100-micron precision, and 20ms reaction time. A theoretical physicist by training with a Caltech double major and a Stanford PhD in string theory, Cullen spent two decades turning hard math into shipping technology - co-founding the video-recognition startup Keystream and leading AI and Robotics at Samsung, where he built the autonomous-mobility stack for the company's robots and cars. In 2025 Summer Robotics raised a Series A led by Applied Ventures, the venture arm of Applied Materials.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Summer Robotics
- **Organizations:** Summer Robotics, Samsung Electronics, Keystream, Pulsent Corporation, Cullen Consulting
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.S. in Mathematics and Physics, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Ph.D. in Theoretical (String/Particle) Physics, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Summer Robotics, creator of the Kortx laser-event machine-vision platform, Built Samsung's autonomous-mobility algorithmic stack as VP of AI and Robotics, Co-founded Keystream, an early video object-recognition startup applied to web advertising

## Career timeline

- **1991-1995** — Earns dual bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics at Caltech
- **1995-2000** — Completes a PhD in theoretical physics at Stanford, working on string theory and particle physics, including the 2000 paper 'TeV Strings and Collider Probes of Large Extra Dimensions'
- **2000s** — Scientist and Project Leader at Pulsent Corporation, working on image processing and compression
- **2000s** — Co-founds and serves as CEO of Keystream, developing algorithms for automated object tracking, extraction, and recognition in video for web advertising
- **2010s** — Joins Samsung; serves as Senior Director of AI and Autonomous Driving, then Vice President of AI and Robotics, leading Samsung's autonomous-mobility stack for robots and cars and partnerships with Berkeley BDD/BAIR
- **2020** — Co-founds Summer Robotics with Dirk Smits to build camera-free robotic perception
- **2024** — Speaks at RoboBusiness (Pitchfire startup competition and a robotics investment panel)
- **2025** — Summer Robotics raises Series A led by Applied Ventures (Applied Materials), with Solasta Ventures and NAVER D2SF; launches Kortx platform pilots with automotive manufacturers

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Summer Robotics, creator of the Kortx laser-event machine-vision platform
- Built Samsung's autonomous-mobility algorithmic stack as VP of AI and Robotics
- Co-founded Keystream, an early video object-recognition startup applied to web advertising
- Co-authored the influential physics paper 'TeV Strings and Collider Probes of Large Extra Dimensions' (2000)
- Holds 8 issued patents, primarily in visual communication and image processing
- Raised a Series A for Summer Robotics led by Applied Ventures in 2025

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Summer Robotics completed the first closing of its Series A led by Applied Ventures, with Solasta Ventures and NAVER D2SF, to accelerate the Kortx machine-vision platform; appointed Rick Van Valkenburg as Chief Commercial Officer.
- **2025** — Launched Kortx pilot programs with automotive manufacturers and expanded into additional automation industries.

## Links

- Website: https://summerrobotics.ai
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/schuylercullen

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/schuyler-cullen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-20