https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/07/covariant-massrobotics-and-the-engine-discuss-the-road-from-lab-to-market-at-tc-sessions-robotics/

It’s a long road taking an idea from the R&D stage in a lab to successful commercialization, especially when you’re talking about technologies as complex and costly as robotics and artificial intelligence. 

Robotics startups require expensive equipment — like industrial-grade sensors, 3D printers and controlled environments — for building and testing prototypes. And even though robotics is weathering the current slowdown in venture funding better than other tech sectors, it’s still too easy for innovative inventions to remain stuck in the lab.