Marin Tchakarov

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Robust.AI, a leader in AI-driven warehouse automation, today announced the appointment of Marin Tchakarov as its new CEO. Tchakarov takes over as Robust.AI marks the deployment of more than 100 Carter™ collaborative mobile robots and prepares to launch a transformative new platform for robotics, software, and services.

Marin arrives at Robust.AI with more than 30 years of experience building and leading high-growth technology businesses on the leading edge of innovation. Most recently, as CEO of Fox Robotics, he successfully scaled the organization for commercial growth, which ultimately paved the way for the company’s acquisition by Symbotic. Prior to that, as CEO of Kindred Systems, he drove over 300% growth in robot deployments and guided Kindred through its acquisition by Ocado Group for a reported $262 million. He has also held numerous senior financial positions, including CFO of Pebble and Jawbone.

“Some CEOs are good at winning business, others are good at operations, and yet others are good at predicting where the market is headed. Marin is the rare executive who is good at all three,” said Jazz Venture Partners Managing Partner and Robust.AI board member John Spinale. “His commercial savvy, product vision and financial discipline are just what Robust.AI needs as it enters this next phase of hypergrowth.”

“I am very excited to join the Robust.AI team at such a pivotal moment in the company’s arc,” Tchakarov said. “Carter is a mature product already driving strong value and ROI for our customers, and I am eager to help realize the full potential of this momentum.”

A revolutionary mobile robot

Third-party logistics firms (3PLs) and other warehouse operators are quickly adopting Carter, a fully autonomous smart-cart with the capacity of six conventional AMRs. With its 360-degree array of visual cameras, Carter moves nimbly through crowded environments executing tasks such as picking, conveyor loops, putaway, and point-to-point transportation. Its familiar form factor minimizes training time, while its patented holonomic drive makes manual steering seem almost magical.

Robust.AI is doubling Carter deployments every six months, with customers including DHL Supply Chain, O’Neill Logistics, ShipLab, and Saddle Creek Logistics Services. At the same time, Robust.AI is forging strong relationships with leading technology and manufacturing firms to support its rapid growth. Its recent partnership with Aptiv will add radar sensing to Carter’s existing camera-based perception, while its manufacturing partnership with Foxconn will ensure Robust.AI can scale production to meet demand.

Later this year, Robust.AI will launch a platform that delivers constant improvement and new capabilities for Carter fleets while turning Carter’s transactional and computer vision data into operational intelligence. Based on Carter sensor data, for example, customers could ask the platform how best to lay out inventory or where and how labor could be better utilized.

“Robust.AI has positioned itself to swiftly take over the whitespace left by legacy robotics companies,” Tchakarov said. “Carter has the ‘X-factor’ that separates truly great products from the rest. Its versatility delivers ROI right from the start. It’s easy to set up, frictionless to adopt, and people love working with it. Next, our new platform is going to 10X+ Carter’s value by turning our robots into intelligence agents. When I consider all the talent, ambition, and sheer product excellence Robust.AI brings to the table, I am both eager and humbled to join this all-star team.”

Accelerating innovation

As Marin steps into the CEO role, Robust.AI co-founder and current CEO, Anthony Jules, will become Chief Innovation Officer. Jules will be responsible for developing strategic physical AI initiatives on and surrounding the Robust.AI platform.

“Now that we’ve established product-market fit, Marin has the experience and vision to make Robust.AI the dominant player in the space,” Jules said. “I’m excited to focus 100% on technical innovation. We’re creating the world’s most valuable dataset for warehouse robotics—not just physical layouts, but interactions between robots and human workers. Carter is the only mobile robot equipped to collect this kind of data. With that unique dataset, our new platform, and the talent we have on board, the possibilities are limitless. Everything we’ve launched so far—everything we’ve talked about—is just a taste of what’s coming.”

About Robust.AI

Founded in 2019, Robust.AI brings together real-world physical AI and user-centric design to make robots that work for people. The company’s flagship robot, Carter™, combines industry-leading commercial robotics and groundbreaking human-robot interaction to make it broadly useful, effortless to adopt, and delightful to use. Robust.AI’s solutions prioritize seamless, safe human-robot collaboration to drive higher productivity across picking, putaway, value-added service, and material handling with no infrastructure changes required. For more information, visit www.robust.ai.

Media Contact

Maura Lafferty
Firebrand Communications for Robust.AI
robust-ai@firebrand.marketing
415.848.9175

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6ccb1c29-a03a-4b47-888d-0fe7675c60fc


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Robust AI, Inc.