Anki (American company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Robotics, Artificial intelligence, Consumer electronics, Toys |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Boris Sofman, Mark Palatucci, Hanns Tappeiner |
| Defunct | April 2019 |
| Fate | Filed for bankruptcy; assets acquired by Digital Dream Labs |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Boris Sofman, Mark Palatucci, Hanns Tappeiner, Marc Andreessen (board), Danny Rimer (board) |
| Products | Anki Drive, Anki OVERDRIVE, Cozmo, Vector |
Anki (presented as "anki") was a US-based startup specializing in robotics and artificial intelligence, dedicated to creating smart, adaptable physical devices aimed at children. Established in 2010 by Boris Sofman, Mark Palatucci, and Hanns Tappeiner—graduates of Carnegie Mellon University—the enterprise concentrated on addressing challenges related to AI navigation, reasoning, and task execution.
The company introduced its premier offering, Anki Drive, at the 2013 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Over successive Series A, B, and C funding rounds, Anki raised a total of $182.5 million from prominent investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Two Sigma, and JP Morgan. The board featured influential figures including Marc Andreessen and Danny Rimer.
Although Anki experienced rapid expansion and established a strong foothold with products like Cozmo, Vector, Anki Overdrive, and Anki Drive, it filed for bankruptcy in April 2019 after unsuccessful attempts to obtain essential financing. Later that year, Digital Dream Labs acquired its assets and launched updated versions of Cozmo and Vector; however, these efforts did not match the original commercial impact achieved by Anki.
Anki’s business strategy merged consumer robotics with AI-powered interactive entertainment, focusing on the children’s toy sector through cutting-edge technology and collaborative partnerships. Its corporate headquarters were situated in San Francisco, California.
History
Founded in 2010 by Boris Sofman, Mark Palatucci, and Hanns Tappeiner, Anki established its main office in San Francisco, with additional operations in Europe including Anki Germany GmbH.
Anki Drive, Anki OVERDRIVE, and Anki OVERDRIVE: Fast & Furious Edition
The company’s first product, Anki Drive, was released in October 2013 via Apple retail stores and online channels. It was priced at $149.99 initially, with supplementary cars available for $49.99 each and expansion track sets costing $69.99. This product integrated an iOS application with physical robotic race cars equipped with AI capabilities, optical sensors, and wireless communication. In September 2015, Anki introduced Anki OVERDRIVE featuring modular tracks that connected magnetically and ranged from $19.99 to $29.99 per piece. The 2017 launch of OVERDRIVE: Fast & Furious Edition incorporated characters from the popular film series.
By the year 2025, the removal of supporting apps from all digital stores combined with battery wear has significantly reduced these products’ functionality, limiting their use primarily to technically skilled enthusiasts.
Cozmo
Cozmo debuted in October 2016 in the United States as a small robot designed mainly for educational purposes to facilitate coding learning among children. It included interactive features utilizing three light-up cubes that it could independently handle. Special editions appeared in 2017 ("Liquid Metal") and in 2018 ("Interstellar Blue").
Cozmo gained popularity as an educational toy due to its environment recognition and engaging interaction capabilities until production ended in May 2019 following Anki’s financial collapse. The product received industry honors such as the Bronze Anvil Award along with recognition from groups like NAPPA.
Vector
Introduced in August 2018, Vector was created as a more capable follow-up to Cozmo, aiming to appeal to a wider audience beyond just the toy market. While maintaining a similar size and form factor to Cozmo, Vector sports a mainly black exterior accented with gray elements and a unique gold trim surrounding its top light, which changes color to indicate different statuses. The robot is equipped with four microphones for accurate voice direction detection, a gold touch-sensitive pad for user interaction, facial recognition technology, and the ability to respond to voice commands. Connected to the cloud, Vector receives automatic software updates. Its initial significant upgrade came in December 2018, when Amazon Alexa integration was added, expanding its smart home functionality. Following Anki’s closure, there were concerns about the continuity of Vector’s online features; nevertheless, Digital Dream Labs acquired the platform, guaranteeing ongoing support and updates.