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ProHand
Proception AI
PrivatePalo Alto startup building ultra dexterous humanoid robot hands, founded in September 2024 by Jay Li and Jianxiang Xu, both former Tesla Optimus engineers. Y Combinator backed. Tesla filed a trade secrets lawsuit against the company in June 2025.
Founded 2024$500,000 raised
Dexterous Hands
About Proception AI
Proception AI is a Palo Alto-based robotics startup developing dexterous robotic hands for humanoid robots and advanced automation. Founded in 2024 by former Tesla Optimus engineers Jay Li and Jianxiang Xu, the company focuses on solving robotic manipulation through precision hardware, rapid iteration, and scalable data collection rather than building a complete humanoid platform from the outset. Its technology combines high-performance robotic hands with AI-driven learning pipelines that generate the manipulation data needed to train future humanoid systems. By treating dexterity as the foundation of embodied intelligence, Proception AI aims to enable robots to perform increasingly complex real-world tasks across industrial and commercial environments.
Technical Profile
Platform maturity, autonomy stack, and flagship-system specifications in one view.
Technology Snapshot
A concise view of platform maturity and deployment footprint.
Flagship PlatformProHand
Investors
Latest Updates
June 2025Company MilestoneCorporate
Tesla sues Proception over alleged Optimus hand trade secretsIn June 2025, Tesla filed a trade secrets lawsuit accusing Li of downloading confidential Optimus hand designs before departure. Proception continues development despite the legal challenges.
Proception AI Team
Proception AI History
- September 2024
Proception AI is founded by former Tesla Optimus engineers
Proception AI was founded in September 2024 by Jay Li and Jack Xu, both former Tesla Optimus engineers. Less than a week after Li left Tesla, Proception was incorporated.
Palo AltoTesla Optimus alumni - October 2024 - January 2025
ProHand 1.0 is built within four months
With ~5 people, the founders built a functional humanoid hand prototype in four months. The ProHand 1.0 integrates high-resolution touch sensors with five articulated fingers.
ProHand 1.0Dexterous hand - March 2025
Y Combinator backing and pre-seed capital fund the next phase
Accepted into Y Combinator, Proception raised $500,000 in pre-seed in March 2025 and published benchmarks claiming superiority over Shadow Hand, Allegro Hand, and others.
Y CombinatorPre-seed - June 2025
Tesla sues Proception over alleged Optimus hand trade secrets
In June 2025, Tesla filed a trade secrets lawsuit accusing Li of downloading confidential Optimus hand designs before departure. Proception continues development despite the legal challenges.
Tesla lawsuitOptimus hand
Proception AI is a Palo Alto startup building dexterous humanoid hands as the entry point to broader humanoid automation. Founded in 2024 by former Tesla Optimus engineers Jay Li and Jianxiang Xu, the Y Combinator-backed company focuses on high-precision manipulation, fast iteration, and data-collection workflows designed to scale beyond a single research prototype.