Silicon Valley Hotel Cleaning Humanoid Startup "Chameleon" Secures Pre-Seed Investment

Can Be Deployed Without Changing Existing Hotel Operations

Founded by Former Silicon Valley Tech Leaders

Selected for TIPS Global Track Through Mashup Ventures' Recommendation

Chameleon, a Silicon Valley-based startup specializing in hotel cleaning humanoid robots, announced on March 10 that it has secured pre-seed investment. This round included participation from Korean investors Base Ventures, Naver D2SF, Mashup Ventures, The Ventures, Schmidt, as well as institutional investors from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Chameleon develops humanoid robots designed for hotel cleaning. The robots go beyond simple automation of specific tasks, autonomously navigating hotel rooms like humans and carrying out standardized cleaning procedures. The system can be implemented without the need to change the hotel's existing operational methods or structure, minimizing onsite disruption. It also provides guests with objectively measured cleanliness, thereby helping to improve customer satisfaction.

Chameleon was recently selected for the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups) Global Track, overseen by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, in recognition of its expertise in multi-jointed robot hardware and AI (artificial intelligence) technology tailored to cleaning environments. The selection was made upon recommendation from Mashup Ventures, and Chameleon will receive up to 1.2 billion won in research and development (R&D) funding.

The Chameleon team is comprised of master's and doctoral-level engineers from Silicon Valley's leading tech companies. After earning his doctorate at Seoul National University, CEO Donghoon Lee worked on Tesla's autonomous driving and humanoid projects, as well as Apple's 3D scanning technology development. Additionally, the company has recruited a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Robotics Officer (CRO) from Meta and Bear Robotics, respectively, creating technological synergy across both hardware and software in robotics.

Currently, Chameleon is headquartered in Silicon Valley and operates globally through its Korean subsidiary. Following this latest investment, the company aims to complete its first robot to a level suitable for real-world service and will focus on validating its stability through on-site proof-of-concept (PoC) tests with hotel clients. Furthermore, the company plans to expand its engineering team via its Korean subsidiary and broaden its collaboration network with hotel industry stakeholders both domestically and internationally.

CEO Donghoon Lee stated, "By having robots take on tasks that are difficult and repetitive for humans, on-site staff will be able to focus on more valuable work. Starting with hotels, we plan to expand our application to offices, hospitals, and other environments where repetitive tasks with similar structures exist."

Eunwoo Park, Partner at Mashup Ventures who managed this investment, commented, "This is a uniquely capable team with extensive experience in AI modeling, computer vision, and hardware at leading global tech companies. We expect their pragmatic automation approach and technological expertise to offer significant competitive advantage in the global hotel market, which continues to struggle with chronic labor shortages."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.