Company
September 20, 2022

Why Robots?

Eliot Horowitz
CEO & Founder
On this page

We are getting ready to share the Viam platform with the world and it feels like a good time to answer a question I’ve gotten more than a few times since leaving MongoDB: why robots?

Technology has huge potential to improve our lives. We founded MongoDB because as developers, we were fed up with the databases on the market and wanted to build one that developers would actually want to use. That database helped developers build countless products and services that improved how we work and live, and it gave me the resources to be selective about what I wanted to do next–my next job needed to really matter. There are massive problems facing humanity, starting with the many facets of the climate crisis, food insecurity and the housing shortage. So I began researching how I might be able to impact cleaning the oceans and shorelines, and addressing the climate crisis in general. 

Something became very clear to me after a few months of research: if we are going to meaningfully address problems like this we need robots…lots of them working together. If we are going to remove the mountains of plastic we’ve dumped in the ocean it won’t be by sending crews out in boats to do it manually. I think everyone would prefer fresh, locally sourced food if it were affordable; that is going to require agriculture automation and precision delivered by robotics. To build the volume of housing needed to impact shortages, we need robots helping with the construction. I still didn’t know exactly what my next company would be but I knew it would involve robots and I dove right in.

I really love to play chess and I thought a fun starter project would be to make a robot arm to play against me, but the software side of that project was one of the most frustrating programming experiences of my life. I was tripping at the starting line and I like to think I'm pretty good with tech. If everyone else was hitting the same blockers I was, other software developers wouldn’t want to invest their time and energy working with robots. Robotics would stay an exclusive space for academics when we need as many people as possible working with robots.

At Viam we are building a platform that corrects this. It shouldn't be hard to turn a cool idea into a functioning robot. It should be way easier than it is today to launch a robotics startup and get your proof of concept to market. Robots should be able to take advantage of all the benefits of cloud connectivity just like the rest of the tech ecosystem. There should be more investment, more founders, more creators, more component makers, more builders looking to use robots to launch products and services that improve our world. Whether it’s deploying a solution aimed at solving one of humanity's biggest problems, or something that makes cleaning the house easier–there are infinite use cases for robots. 

Robots should be filling in potholes in the middle of the night. Robots should be helping you water your plants. Robots should be doing a ton of helpful things I can’t even think of because they are somebody else’s vision to bring to life.

Viam is Latin for road and the platform will be a road to using robots to solve problems. Watch this space for a public beta coming soon. I can’t wait to see what you build, to see what your robots can do powered by Viam.

—Eliot Horowitz

twitter iconfacebook iconlinkedin iconreddit icon

Find us at our next event

Jul 17, 2025
Jul 18, 2025
,

DevRelCon

In Person
New York
Add some flair to your sticker swag by building a customizable, mini sticker vending machine for your next event, no prior hardware experience required!
Register Now
Jul 23, 2025
Jul 25, 2025
,

Nebraska.Code

In Person
Lincoln, NE
Learn how you, as a software person, can get started with robotics without knowing too much about hardware or robots at all!
Join Us
Aug 13, 2025
Aug 15, 2025
,

Kansas City Developer Conference

In Person
Kansas City
Are you interested in robotics or fun "maker space" type inventions, but have no idea where to start? Join Adrienne for a gentle introduction into robotics.
Check it out
Oct 13, 2025
Oct 14, 2025
,

All Things Open

In Person
Raleigh, NC
Viam is excited to sponsor All Things Open. Be sure to catch the Viam session where you'll learn how to build a real-time macaron (or macaroon) detection robot.
Join Us