Viam Platform for Smart Machines and Physical AI

Viam is a New York-rooted software company founded by MongoDB co-founder Eliot Horowitz. It gives companies a common software layer to program, connect and manage fleets of physical devices, from cameras and sensors to robotic arms, so teams do not have to build device software, data pipelines and update tooling for each vendor's hardware.

The platform lets machines describe their connected hardware and services at runtime, with versioned, reversible configuration and standard APIs for arms, cameras, grippers, motors, sensors and compute. Teams capture data, train models and build applications in simulation or on the machine, then deliver software, models and configuration over the air with staged and canary rollouts, remote diagnostics and teleoperation without SSH. A registry shares reusable modules, and AI agents such as Claude Code or Codex can operate machines through the Viam MCP server. Customers include UBS Arena, Viking Yachts and Kongsberg.

• Hardware discovery: machines describe connected hardware, modules and services, with versioned and reversible configuration.
• Standard APIs: common interfaces for arms, cameras, grippers, motors, sensors and compute across vendors.
• Data and ML: capture data, train models and build applications in simulation or on the machine.
• Over-the-air deployment: delivery of software, models and configuration with staged and canary rollouts.
• Fleet operations: monitoring, security, remote diagnostics and teleoperation without SSH.
• Agent support: Viam MCP server for AI agents and a registry of reusable modules.

A Vietnamese furniture or metal parts factory can automate sanding and surface finishing with robot arms and cameras managed from one platform. A system integrator can build reusable vision and robotics modules and deploy them to many client sites. A venue or retail operator can connect cameras and point-of-sale data to guide visitors to shorter queues.

Hardware-agnostic APIs let one application or skill run on machines from different vendors, reducing lock-in. Staged and canary over-the-air rollouts lower the risk of updating machines already in the field. Remote diagnostics and teleoperation without SSH cut site visits. A free starting tier and reusable modules from the registry shorten pilots for integrators and manufacturers.

Factories and service operators are adding cameras, sensors and robots faster than they can integrate them, and AI models now need to run close to machines. A shared software layer for fleets of mixed hardware, with safe remote updates, is becoming important as Southeast Asian manufacturers automate surface finishing, inspection and material handling.

Founded by MongoDB co-founder Eliot Horowitz, with roots in New York. Raised a 30 million USD Series C in March 2025 led by Union Square Ventures with Battery Ventures and Neurone, bringing total funding to 117 million USD. Offers free self-paced courses through Viam Education.