Bhubaneswar: From the classrooms of Bhubaneswar to the startup ecosystem of San Francisco, Pratham Batra’s journey is anything but ordinary. At 19, the young entrepreneur is already contributing to the future of robotics, positioning himself among a new generation of innovators driving the physical AI revolution. A freshman at the University of Southern California, Batra co-founded Northstar Robotics with Miki Safronov-Yamamoto. Based in San Francisco, the startup is focused on one of robotics’ biggest challenges — enabling machines to understand and interact with the physical world with greater intelligence and intuition.
Northstar Robotics works at the frontier of physical AI, developing foundational robotics models trained on high-quality egocentric, teleoperation, simulation, multimodal, tactile, and UMI data — a combination aimed at giving robots a richer, more human-like understanding of the physical world. The company aims to bridge this gap by developing systems that help machines learn practical, real-world skills from experienced professionals such as builders, cooks and craftspeople. It seeks to capture years of human expertise and transform it into knowledge that robots can use to make better decisions and perform tasks more effectively. The startup has already attracted significant attention in the technology ecosystem.
Northstar Robotics has secured a pre-seed funding round from Genius Ventures at a valuation of $10 million, achieving the milestone within a month of its launch. For Odisha, Batra’s success reflects the growing global aspirations of its young talent. His journey underscores how geographical boundaries are becoming increasingly irrelevant for ambitious entrepreneurs. As the race to build smarter, more capable robots intensifies worldwide, Pratham Batra is proving that the next generation of technology leaders can emerge from anywhere — including the heart of Odisha.
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