Shepherd Robotics

Active · Robots for high skilled labor powering AI infrastructure

YC F26

Website YC profile

Why it ranks

How the rank works

8signal of 100 · rising 8

went through YCProgram · this site+4
team of 4Team size · YC's directory+3.6

A sum of public facts, not a judgement and not investment advice.

Competitors

PhilonShared: purpose robot, general purpose, roboticsYC F25San FranciscoStartup →AI

UltraShared: purpose robot, general purpose, roboticsYC S24New York CityStartup →AI

DarwinShared: physical work, purpose robot, general purposeYC F25San FranciscoStartup →AI

AlmondShared: automation, manufacturing, roboticsYC X25San FranciscoStartup →AI

SilicaShared: manufacturing, robotics, hardwareYC F26San FranciscoStartup →Other

TwelveLabsShared: foundation modelStartup →

Companies closest to Shepherd Robotics
Company	Category	Status	Program
PhilonShared: purpose robot, general purpose, roboticsYC F25ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCF25
UltraShared: purpose robot, general purpose, roboticsYC S24ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCS24
DarwinShared: physical work, purpose robot, general purposeYC F25ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCF25
AlmondShared: automation, manufacturing, roboticsYC X25ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCX25
SilicaShared: manufacturing, robotics, hardwareYC F26ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCF26
TwelveLabsnot in a program hereShared: foundation modelElsewhereOther	Other	Elsewhere

Adjacent

Other

Noble MachinesShared: purpose robot, general purposeSPC 2024San FranciscoStartup →AI

Cortex AIShared: purpose robot, general purpose, foundation modelYC F25San FranciscoStartup →Other

CircuitHubShared: automation, manufacturing, roboticsYC W12LondonStartup →AI

Waddle LabsShared: automation, roboticsYC S26San FranciscoStartup →AI

Industrial NextShared: foundation model, manufacturing, roboticsYC W22San FranciscoStartup →

Companies next to Shepherd Robotics
Company	Category	Status	Program
Noble MachinesShared: purpose robot, general purposeSPC 2024Not statedOther	Other	Not stated	SPC2024
Cortex AIShared: purpose robot, general purpose, foundation modelYC F25ActiveAI	AI	Active	YCF25
CircuitHubShared: automation, manufacturing, roboticsYC W12ActiveOther	Other	Active	YCW12
Waddle LabsShared: automation, roboticsYC S26ActiveAI, Devtools	AI, Devtools	Active	YCS26
Industrial NextShared: foundation model, manufacturing, roboticsYC W22 +1ActiveAI	AI	Active	YC +1W22

Also from F26 in AI

All of F26

Evident MachinesBenchmarks and RL environments for electrical engineeringYC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

horizontal.AI agents that run factory operations end-to-end.YC F26San FranciscoStartup →AIMantleThe pit crew for machines and robots.YC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

twentyfour26Building Autonomous Factories in America, Starting with On-Demand CNC…YC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

AilitElectrifying North American freight rail with swappable batteries.YC F26San FranciscoStartup →AI

antimattrvoice-first hardware interface for human-agent interactionYC F26San FranciscoStartup →

Company	Category	Status
Evident MachinesBenchmarks and RL environments for electrical engineeringteam of 2ActiveAI	AI	Active
horizontal.AI agents that run factory operations end-to-end.team of 2ActiveAI	AI	Active
MantleThe pit crew for machines and robots.team of 2ActiveAI	AI	Active
twentyfour26Building Autonomous Factories in America, Starting with On-Demand CNC…team of 2ActiveAI	AI	Active
AilitElectrifying North American freight rail with swappable batteries.team of 6ActiveAI	AI	Active
antimattrvoice-first hardware interface for human-agent interactionteam of 2ActiveAI	AI	Active

Founders

Feifei DuanFounder/CEO
David FangFounder/CTO
Kai RuFounder

About Shepherd Robotics

Shepherd Robotics builds general purpose robots for skilled physical work across AI infrastructure and advanced manufacturing. Our robots are powered by robot foundation models and use modular, flexible hardware designed to adapt to different environments and tasks. We train our systems on a combination of real world and simulation data so they can learn complex manipulation skills and generalize across workflows. We also provide integration into customers’ existing workflows, starting with data center construction and operations, electrical manufacturing and testing, and electronics manufacturing, where traditional automation struggles with variability, dexterity, and changing environments.

YC batch: F26 · Fall 2026
Status, per YC: Active
Category: AI
Team size: 4
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Founded: 2026
Checked: 10h ago

YC tags: Hardware, Robotics, Manufacturing, Automation, AI