Armenian startup Areg.ai unveils "Sobot" solar robot

Krisp co-founder Artavazd Minasyan summed up the first year of operation of the Areg.ai startup and presented a solar robot called "Sobot."

According to Minasyan, Areg.ai was launched exactly one year ago together with Hayk Harutyunyan and Armen Garibyan. The goal of the project is to make large solar power plants as autonomous as possible through the use of robots and artificial intelligence algorithms. During this time, the team managed to attract $6 million in investments, create its own platform, develop algorithms for detecting malfunctions from drone images, as well as mobile applications and other solutions.

Minasyan separately noted the robotics direction, calling it one of the main achievements of the year. The team presented the "Sobot" solar robot, which is designed for inspecting solar panels, mowing grass, scaring away large animals, video shooting, and automatically tightening fasteners.

In 2026, Areg.ai plans to launch mass production of "Sobot" and other robots in Armenia, as well as begin supplying them to Western markets. The first prototype has already been shown to the team, and, as Minasyan admitted, it was at this moment that he felt that the emotional connection with a physical robot is much stronger than with a software AI - if only because the robot can be hugged.

The entrepreneur jokingly added that due to its external resemblance to the WALL-E character, he suggested renaming "Sobot" to "Vle", emphasizing the Armenian origin of the robot, but the team did not support this idea.