SafeWorld Raises $12.2 Million for Robot Safety Simulations

Oct 5, 2026
SafeWorld emerged from stealth with $12.2 million in seed funding to develop software for testing robots in simulated environments.

SafeWorld emerged from stealth with $12.2 million in seed funding, according to TechCrunch. The round was jointly led by Shine Capital and a16z Speedrun, with participation from BoxGroup, the Carnegie Mellon University Endowment, Innovation Endeavors and SV Angel.

SafeWorld provides simulation software that lets companies test robots in rare, dangerous and unexpected situations without physical trials. Users can create scenarios in a browser from safety standards, previous incidents and robot logs, then run thousands of variations with simulated human movement. Tests can be repeated after software updates or changes to operating environments.

The Palo Alto company was founded by Dr. Ding Zhao, director of the Safe AI Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, Kyle Wong, the former founder of Pixlee and CEO of StartX, and former Salesforce engineer Simo Rachidi. SafeWorld is running early pilot programs with automotive manufacturers, warehouse automation companies and medical device makers.

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