Diligent Robotics
Diligent Robotics is an Austin, Texas company that makes Moxi, a hospital robot that takes routine fetch-and-deliver work off nurses and clinical staff. It was founded in 2017 by roboticists Andrea Thomaz, its chief executive, and Vivian Chu. Moxi is a mobile manipulator with an expressive face and a robotic arm: it maps a hospital, rides lifts, and delivers supplies, medications and lab samples to patient rooms, nursing stations and laboratories. Moxi works in more than 25 US hospitals and has completed more than 1.25 million deliveries. In October 2025 Diligent introduced Moxi 2.0, rebuilt for easier manufacturing and running NVIDIA IGX Thor computing with about ten times the processing power of the original, with first deployments planned for the first half of 2026. The company aims to double its hospital footprint each year and deploy thousands of robots by 2030, and is backed by investors including True Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures from its early rounds.
π‘Notable Achievement: Diligent Robotics' Moxi is the first commercial mobile manipulation robot with a compliant robotic arm to achieve wide-scale clinical adoption in U.S. hospital inpatient units, logging millions of operational delivery steps across major health systems like Cedars-Sinai and Northwestern Medicine.
What Does Diligent Robotics Do?
Diligent Robotics is transforming hospital operations by introducing mobile service robots that act as autonomous clinical teammates. By taking over the tedious, time-consuming physical tasks of fetching medications, delivering lab specimens, and restocking unit supplies, Diligent's flagship robot Moxi enables healthcare staff and registered nurses to practice at the top of their clinical licenses rather than burning out on routine manual legwork. Following its milestone acquisition by Serve Robotics in 2026, Diligent Robotics combines robust social robotics and compliant mobile manipulation with world-class physical AI fleet infrastructure. The company provides health systems with an immediate, proven ROI that reduces nurse turnover, eliminates hallway logistical bottlenecks, and drives superior operational throughput in acute care facilities.
βDiligent Robotics empowers clinical healthcare teams by automating internal hospital supply runs with socially intelligent, collaborative mobile manipulation robots.β
Clinical Nurse Empowerment
Automates routine supply and lab fetch runs to give registered nurses up to 2 hours per shift back for direct, hands-on patient care.
Socially Intelligent Physical AI
Blends expressive head and eye cues with compliant motion planning so humans feel intuitive, safe, and positive coexisting with robots in crowded corridors.
Autonomous Facility Navigation
Seamlessly integrates with digital elevator systems, automatic doors, and badge access portals to bridge complex multi-floor hospital towers.
What Can Diligent Robotics Robots Actually Do?
Cross-portfolio operational capabilities, manipulation tasks, and environmental competencies
Diligent Robotics integrates holonomic mobility, a compliant 7-DoF manipulator arm, and human-aware social cues to create an agile, versatile indoor collaborative robot.
Compliant Mobile Manipulation
Equipped with a 7-DoF torque-limited robotic arm and parallel gripper for pressing buttons, manipulating access doors, and retrieving supply totes.
Multi-Floor Healthcare Transit
Fully autonomous navigation across elevators and badge-restricted hospital wards via cloud API integrations and visual recognition.
Secure Specimen & Medication Transport
Features locked rear storage compartments with electronic badge reader access to safely courier controlled pharmaceuticals and blood vials.
Expressive Social Human-Robot Interaction
Animated graphic LED eyes, head orienting, and audio chimes signal robotic intent, fostering friendly rapport with clinical workers and patients.
Diligent Robotics Robots
Showing 1 Humanoid Robots of 2 total models
Moxi
Manufactured by Diligent Robotics
Moxi is a humanoid robot designed specifically for hospital environments to assist clinical staff by automating non-patient-facing tasks. It features a robotic arm with a gripper capable of picking up and delivering medical supplies, lab samples, medications, and personal belongings. Moxi autonomously navigates hospital hallways using advanced sensors and AI, avoiding obstacles and interacting safely with people. It supports workflow automation, reducing nursesβ time spent on menial tasks and improving operational efficiency. Moxiβs social intelligence includes LED eyes for communication and voice lines to alert staff, making it a collaborative and friendly teammate in healthcare settings. Its software is adaptable to evolving hospital needs, enabling dynamic task additions.
Diligent Robotics Software & AI Ecosystem
Developer platforms, fleet management portals, autonomy intelligence, and enterprise integrations
Diligent Brain
Real-Time Perception & Motion Planning
Proprietary software layer integrating visual SLAM, social navigation cost-maps, and reactive trajectory planning for dense pedestrian hallways.
Diligent Cloud Portal
Enterprise Telemetry & Shift Analytics
Centralized web management platform providing hospital nursing directors with fleet tracking, task dispatch logs, turnaround metrics, and battery health.
Diligent Tele-Assist
Remote Supervised Intervention
Cloud-based remote assistance network that resolves complex navigational edge cases and manipulation anomalies with sub-second response times.
Diligent Connect
EHR & Building Access Interface
Standardized middleware connecting Moxi with Otis/Kone elevator banks, RFID door strikes, and electronic health record task messaging.
Diligent Robotics Timeline & Milestones
Evolutionary history, landmark prototypes, major acquisitions, and commercial roadmap
Diligent Robotics founded in Austin
Roboticists Andrea Thomaz and Vivian Chu found Diligent Robotics to build robots that help hospital staff.
Source: therobotreport.com
$2.1 million seed round
Diligent raises a US$2.1 million seed round, alongside about US$725,000 in National Science Foundation grants.
Source: therobotreport.com
$3 million seed round and Moxi launch
Diligent raises US$3 million led by True Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures and launches Moxi after beta tests in four Texas hospitals.
Source: therobotreport.com
Moxi 2.0 unveiled
Diligent introduces Moxi 2.0, redesigned for manufacturing and powered by NVIDIA IGX Thor, with first deployments planned for the first half of 2026.
Source: therobotreport.com
Diligent Robotics Competitors by Category
Direct industry rivals grouped by specific robotics domain
Aethon (ST Engineering)
Industry PeerModel: TUG
Focus: Heavy-duty autonomous hospital cart tugging without manipulation capabilities
Relay Robotics
Industry PeerModel: Relay / Savvy
Focus: Wheeled indoor delivery courier for hospitality and light healthcare transport
Aeolus Robotics
βModel: aeo
Focus: Dual-arm mobile service humanoid for eldercare assistance and facility patrol
Swisslog Healthcare
Industry PeerModel: RoboCourier / Relay
Focus: Automated material transport and pneumatic tube logistics in hospitals
What Makes Diligent Robotics Different?
Editorial AnalysisOrigin of Bots objective strategic assessment, engineering moats, and commercial hurdles
Key Strengths & Moats
- βProven multi-year commercial track record in dozens of top-tier US health systems with millions of clinical operational hours
- βUnique combination of a compliant manipulator arm with an AMR base, allowing physical environmental interactions (doors/buttons)
- βExceptional clinical user acceptance driven by thoughtful social robotics design, expressive eyes, and predictable movements
- βStrong institutional backing bolstered by its strategic acquisition and physical AI scaling engine under Serve Robotics
Core Strategic Focus
Accelerating nationwide fleet expansions across tier-1 hospital systems, optimizing physical AI tele-assist ratios, and scaling manufacturing under Serve Robotics' supply chain.
Road Ahead & Challenges
- β’High complexity of manipulator maintenance and sensor calibration relative to simpler non-manipulator tug AMRs
- β’Long hospital procurement and clinical committee evaluation cycles
- β’Navigating legacy hospital infrastructure lacking modernized IoT elevator or automated door interfaces
Diligent Robotics vs Key Competitors
Strategic capability matrix across platform categories, commercial readiness, and target markets
Form Factor & Mobility
- Moxi (Diligent)
- Wheeled Torso with Arm
- Aethon TUG
- Low-profile Tug Base
- Relay Robotics
- Enclosed Wheeled Column
- Aeolus aeo
- Dual-Arm Wheeled Platform
Manipulation Capability
- Moxi (Diligent)
- Single 7-DoF Compliant Arm
- Aethon TUG
- None (Cart Hitch Only)
- Relay Robotics
- None (Compartment Only)
- Aeolus aeo
- Dual 7-DoF Robotic Arms
Elevator / Door Button Interaction
- Moxi (Diligent)
- Physical Arm & Cloud API
- Aethon TUG
- Cloud / Hardwired Relay Only
- Relay Robotics
- Cloud / Wi-Fi Relay Only
- Aeolus aeo
- Physical Arm & Cloud API
Primary Target Environment
- Moxi (Diligent)
- Acute Care Nursing Units
- Aethon TUG
- Basement Logistics & Dietary
- Relay Robotics
- Hospitality & Light Hospital
- Aeolus aeo
- Eldercare & Property Services
Commercial Deployment Status
- Moxi (Diligent)
- Commercial Scale (100+ units)
- Aethon TUG
- Mature Commercial (Thousands)
- Relay Robotics
- Commercial Scale
- Aeolus aeo
- Field Pilot & Early Commercial
| Strategic Dimension | Moxi (Diligent) | Aethon TUG | Relay Robotics | Aeolus aeo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form Factor & Mobility | Wheeled Torso with Arm | Low-profile Tug Base | Enclosed Wheeled Column | Dual-Arm Wheeled Platform |
| Manipulation Capability | Single 7-DoF Compliant Arm | None (Cart Hitch Only) | None (Compartment Only) | Dual 7-DoF Robotic Arms |
| Elevator / Door Button Interaction | Physical Arm & Cloud API | Cloud / Hardwired Relay Only | Cloud / Wi-Fi Relay Only | Physical Arm & Cloud API |
| Primary Target Environment | Acute Care Nursing Units | Basement Logistics & Dietary | Hospitality & Light Hospital | Eldercare & Property Services |
| Commercial Deployment Status | Commercial Scale (100+ units) | Mature Commercial (Thousands) | Commercial Scale | Field Pilot & Early Commercial |
Corporate Ecosystem & Ownership Structure
Parent company relationships, historical acquisitions, and global operating facilities
Serve Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ: SERV)
Autonomous sidewalk delivery and physical AI pioneer that entered a definitive agreement to acquire Diligent Robotics in January 2026.
Ownership & Acquisition History
Autonomous sidewalk delivery and physical AI pioneer that entered a definitive agreement to acquire Diligent Robotics in January 2026.
Global Facilities & Operating Hubs
Diligent Robotics Headquarters
HQAustin, Texas, United States
Articles & Industry News
Showing 1 recent article and news updates about Diligent Robotics
Frequently Asked Questions
8 AnswersVerified answers, company specifications, and deployment details about Diligent Robotics
What is Diligent Robotics?
Diligent Robotics is an Austin, Texas company, founded in 2017, that makes Moxi, a hospital robot that delivers supplies, medications and lab samples so nurses can spend more time with patients.
Who founded Diligent Robotics?
Diligent Robotics was founded in 2017 by roboticists Andrea Thomaz, its chief executive, and Vivian Chu, its chief innovation officer. Both came from academic robotics research before moving to Austin to study hospital work.
What is the Moxi robot?
Moxi is Diligent's hospital robot: a mobile manipulator with an expressive face and a robotic arm. It maps a hospital, rides lifts and carries supplies, medications and lab samples between patient rooms, nursing stations and laboratories.
How many hospitals use Moxi?
Moxi operates in more than 25 US hospitals and has completed more than 1.25 million deliveries. Diligent aims to double its hospital footprint each year and deploy thousands of robots by 2030.
What is Moxi 2.0?
Moxi 2.0, introduced in October 2025, is the redesigned version of Moxi. It is easier to manufacture and runs NVIDIA IGX Thor computing with about ten times the processing power of the original, with first deployments planned for the first half of 2026.
Does Moxi work with patients?
Moxi is designed for routine, non-patient-facing tasks such as fetching and delivering items. That takes errands off clinical staff so they have more time for direct patient care.
Who has invested in Diligent Robotics?
Diligent's early investors include True Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures, which led a US$3 million seed round in 2019, along with North Coast Ventures and Capital Factory. It also received National Science Foundation grants.
How much does the Moxi robot cost?
Diligent Robotics has not published a price for Moxi. It works directly with hospitals and health systems, so pricing is arranged with the company for each deployment.
Verified Data & Editorial Assurance
Compiled from verified corporate filings, official Diligent Robotics datasheets, and robotics engineering registries. Information has been verified against official manufacturer documentation. For commercial procurement or proprietary integrations, contact the manufacturer directly.