Ex-Googlers Rebuild the Robot Vacuum and Find a Market

After leaving Google Nest in 2017, two engineers founded Matic to address recurring flaws in robot vacuums; the company says it has generated $20 million in revenue.

A device that repeatedly failed to return to its charger prompted one founder to act. He asked why consumers should put up with such basic shortcomings.

Nariyawala, who serves as president, and Navneet Dalal, the CEO, set out to make a quieter cleaner that can weave through lived-in homes, avoiding pets, scattered toys, cables, wet spots and people.

Matic’s team points to smarter mapping and improved sensors rather than brute suction power. A robotics researcher I spoke with called upgrading situational awareness the central engineering challenge.