Pittsburgh, PA — May 19, 2026
Hellbender, a Physical AI infrastructure company powering intelligent systems at the edge, today announced the close of a $12.5 million seed funding round. The round was co-led by Magarac Venture Partners and Veredas Partners, with participation from Mana Ventures, Gaingels, Sum VC, and the Active Angels Network.
This investment will accelerate the rollout of Hellbender’s edge AI platforms — technology built to bring real-time perception, reasoning, and decision-making directly into physical environments — and will fund team growth across product, sales, and hardware manufacturing to keep pace with rising demand.
Built and Manufactured in the U.S.
Hellbender’s fully U.S.-based technology stack gives customers a reliable alternative to fragile global supply chains. That domestic approach, paired with deep engineering expertise, is why leading robotics companies continue to turn to Hellbender for their toughest AI perception and edge computer vision challenges.
Jay Katarincic, Partner at Magarac Venture Partners, pointed to Hellbender’s position as one of the few companies worldwide offering an end-to-end solution — from concept through scaled manufacturing — entirely onshore, and noted the company’s revenue has nearly doubled year over year since its founding.
Vaibhav Viswanathan of Veredas Partners echoed that sentiment, noting that developers building next-generation autonomous and industrial systems have long been held back by a shortage of accessible, intelligent hardware, and that Hellbender’s new camera line is designed to close that gap.
From Custom Engineering to Commercial Platforms
This funding round marks a pivotal shift for Hellbender: from a dedicated custom engineering and hardware manufacturing partner into a commercial provider of physical AI platforms available to a much broader market. Years spent building field-proven, custom edge AI computer vision systems for top-tier robotics companies have laid the groundwork for this next chapter.
Introducing Three New Physical AI Cameras
Powered by Hailo AI accelerators and Raspberry Pi compute, Hellbender’s new camera lineup delivers low-power, high-TOPS AI processing at the edge — so software teams can focus on building applications instead of wrestling with hardware integration. Today, Hellbender is unveiling three flagship products:
- Hellbender Stereo Camera — Combines depth perception, open-access compute, and AI acceleration in one integrated package. Built to perform in low-light and feature-poor environments and capable of powering and controlling peripheral devices, the Stereo Camera can serve as the centerpiece of an intelligent edge system. Currently in pilot with a major national utility provider.
- Hellbender Vine Camera System — A distributed monitoring solution that scales easily, supporting up to 64 cameras across hundreds of feet with simple installation and a native API. Ideal for smart retail, inventory management, industrial monitoring, and similar large-scale observation needs. Currently in pilot with a national convenience store chain and with assisted living facilities.
- Hellbender Tadpole Camera — The most streamlined way to bring powerful computer vision to the edge. Its small footprint and strong AI acceleration make it well suited for OEM integration, insurtech applications, and advanced security deployments.
Pre-orders open in June 2026.
See It Live
Hellbender will showcase its new camera lineup at Automate 2026 in Chicago, June 22–25, at Booth #3425. Stop by to see the Stereo, Vine, and Tadpole cameras in action.