<article>Singapore headquarted venture capital firm <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/monks-hill/">Monk’s Hill</a> has made an undisclosed funding into California-based robotics company <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://ohmnilabs.com/">OhmniLabs</a>, marking its first financing in a Vietnam-connected company.
Monk’s Hill and OhmniLabs confirmed the deal with this portal, but did not reveal any financial details.</article>

Singapore headquarted venture capital firm <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/monks-hill/">Monk’s Hill</a> has made an undisclosed funding into California-based robotics company <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://ohmnilabs.com/">OhmniLabs</a>, marking its first financing in a Vietnam-connected company.
Monk’s Hill and OhmniLabs confirmed the deal with this portal, but did not reveal any financial details.
Vu Duy Thuc, the Vietnamese co-founder and CEO of OhmniLabs, said Monk’s Hill investment was part of the company’s seed fundraising round. “The proceeds will be used to grow our engineering team,” he said in an email interaction.
A lot of international companies have extolled the virtues of Vietnamese tech talents and actually hired local engineers for their global operations. Thuc hopes to build out a tech team based in the country in the near future.
In conjunction with the financing by Monk’s Hill, the robotics startup launched its home robot, Ohmni, on April 12 through a crowdfunding campaign on <a style="color: #000080;" href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ohmni-a-robot-to-transform-how-you-communicate-home-family#/">Indiegogo</a>.
During the crowdfunding campaign, the robot will be available for an introductory price of $1,399. This price is $500 off the MSRP (manufacturer&#8217;s suggested retail price).
Ohmni offers a better alternative than conventional video chat for a more natural and engaging interaction. The product is designed specifically for homes and families, with a pilot period targeting the elders.
“Families today are often spread out across countries and continents, making it a challenge to stay in touch. We created a robot that people can use everyday to not only communicate but experience life together. The possibilities are endless. I use Ohmni with my grandma in Vietnam and it’s amazing how natural our interaction is,” said Thuc.
The robot works through the connection with the Internet and can be operated remotely. The tele-presence platform, built on a cloud programming API known as OhmniAPI, can move around the house to help people enjoy the shared experiences instead of sitting in front of the screen. It can also be integrated with Amazon Alexa API.
Ohmni’s elder-friendly features “has proven helpful for these families and their feedback has been positive”.
“We’re honored to be a part of this funding round for OhmniLabs. The team is fantastic and we love that they’re obsessive in their pursuit of building robots that improve everyday lives.  It’s a huge mission, but they’re well on their way,” commented Justin Nguyen, operating advisor at Monk’s Hill Ventures.
OhmniLabs was founded in 2015. Thuc, with a PhD degree from Stanford University in computer science, exited his two previous ventures, Katango and Tappy, to Google and Weeby.co. He has been involved in many community projects, one of which is VietSeeds, a nonprofit organisation to empower underprivileged students in Vietnam. He also invests in early stage startups and helps grow the ecosystem in Vietnam.
The other two co-founders, Tingxi Tan and Jared Go, also have extensive experience in AI, machine learning, multi-agent systems, industrial design, mechanical &amp; electrical engineering and cloud infrastructure.
Also read: <a style="color: #ff0000;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/weeby-co-acquires-vietnams-social-networking-app-tappy-for-a-7-digit-sum-7072/">Silicon Valley’s Weeby.co snaps up Vietnam’s Tappy for a 7-digit sum</a>

Monk's Hill invests in robotics startup OhmniLabs' seed round

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Monk's Hill invests in robotics startup OhmniLabs' seed round

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