Physical AI startup TacnIQ.ai has secured $1.5 million from lead investor In Group Holdings as part of a $3 million pre-seed financing round.
The Singapore- and California-based company said on Tuesday that it will use the capital to develop its tactile AI foundation models, strengthen its engineering team and expand commercial deployments. TacnIQ.ai did not disclose additional financial terms of the round.
The startup develops technology that enables machines and robots to process information generated through physical contact. Its systems capture and interpret tactile signals, allowing machines to better respond to interactions in real-world environments. The company is targeting sectors including logistics, construction, e-commerce, hospitality and healthcare, where its wearable sensor nodes collect physical-interaction data that can also support workplace safety and ergonomics.
TacnIQ.ai claims to have assembled one of the world’s largest tactile datasets, comprising more than 5,000 hours of interactions collected through controlled experiments and commercial deployments. It is also working on additional sensor nodes designed to capture a broader range of physical signals.
According to the company, its proprietary dataset enables the development of a single model that can operate across different industries, tasks and environmental conditions. This approach is intended to reduce reliance on separate training for individual applications and avoid limiting model development to laboratory-generated data.
Co-founder and CEO Aashish Mehta said the new funding will support the hiring of additional engineers and help move TacnIQ.ai’s technology closer to practical, real-world applications.
