Women Leading Visual Tech: “Robotics Makes Us Superhuman,” Says Carol Reiley, the Mother of Robots — LDV Capital

LDV Capital invests in people building businesses powered by visual technologies. We thrive on collaborating with deep tech teams leveraging computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to analyze visual data. We are the only venture capital firm with this thesis. We regularly host Vision events – check out when the next one is scheduled.

Our Women Leading Visual Tech series is here to showcase the leading women whose work in visual tech is reshaping business and society.

Carol Reiley is a serial entrepreneur and a computer scientist with the nickname “Mother of Robots.” Her 20 years of academic expertise and industry experience lay in artificial intelligence and robotics with applications in medical space, space exploration, disaster rescue and much more. Carol is the first female engineer to appear on the cover of MAKE magazine and is listed as a top female businesswoman by Forbes, Inc, and Quartz.

She worked for Intuitive Surgical, Lockheed Martin, and General Electric. As an entrepreneur, she co-founded Drive.ai, a startup that managed to raise over $77 million, grew from an 8 person company to 200+ employees over 4 years and was acquired by Apple.

Reiley founded DeepMusic.ai, is a creative advisor and collaborator for the San Francisco Symphony, and a brand spokesmodel for Guerlain Cosmetics. She is also a published author of the children’s book “Making a Splash” in addition to her dozen scientific publications and 8+ patents.

Interview with Carol Reiley

Abby: You have so many different roles, whether that's a collaborator for the San Francisco Symphony, the mother of robots and a daughter. What do you answer to the question, "Who are you?" How do you prioritize all these different roles in your life?
Carol: I aspire to be someone that is constantly growing and learning, guided by compassion and kindness. I don’t want to be defined by a single job and I hate staying stagnant. Whether it’s as an artist, author, businesswoman, technologist, I use these different roles to explore various sides of myself and find balance since I love to delve deep into a topic for years at a time. I tend to pick hard problems since they’re often the most interesting and unexplored and keep me intrigued.

"I don't start a startup because I want to. I do it because I find a problem that I may be uniquely qualified to solve and that bugs me so much that I can’t help but find a solution."

Abby: You're always looking for the pain points that you can solve. Where did your fascination with robots start?
Carol: I wasn’t one of those kids that were coding since they were five or a gamer girl. I didn't quite know what I wanted to be growing up. I thought maybe a doctor because I wanted to do something meaningful, impactful, and help people. I had my first hacker experience with engineering at age eight.

It wasn't until my freshman year of college that I started robotics. Little did I know that moment would lead me down this route twenty years later. I’m so thankful for my educational experience and teachers.

"My advice to young adults is to keep yourself open to constantly learn. Your job might not exist yet. You might invent the job that you want in the future."

Abby: When you decided to study robotics, how many other women were in those classes with you at that point?
Carol: I attended Santa Clara University for computer engineering undergrad and Johns Hopkins University for graduate. In my lab, there were almost 50% women. Robotics touches many different skill sets, emphasizing collaboration.

Abby: It seems like one of the reasons why you felt comfortable getting in the space is because you had so many other fantastic women around who were also interested in various aspects of it.
Carol: Having inspirational role models affects the tone and culture. In grad school, we were under one research center, allowing collaboration between labs. Having strong advisors, both male and female, has been vital.

Abby: Are there any examples of something fascinating for you in the current state of robotics and AI?
Carol: We're undergoing the fourth industrial revolution. AI has made huge strides and is now seen in various commercial products. I'm excited to see what applications people choose to pursue.

"You might think it might take away some jobs, but I would say that the computer has been tremendously helpful for all of us doing our jobs."

Abby: I can only imagine how the workflows of composers can be improved by the addition of AI.
Carol: I'm interested in AI in the arts – seeing how AI can help artists be more creative. I founded DeepMusic.ai with world-class artists to explore this intersection.

"I believe the future of cars is going to be dispersed, and it would be shared ownership."

Abby: I like that answer. Tell me about starting up your fourth company, Drive.ai.
Carol: In 2008, I sat in a lab working next to students who were self-driving car folk. In 2011, things had changed with breakthroughs in deep learning. I felt it was the right time to start a company in this area.

Abby: Were there any critical lessons learned from the experience?
Carol: Every company is unique. Having mentors helped me hustle efficiently. Remember, "done is better than perfect." It's good to get early feedback and build trust within the team.

Abby: Is that something that you took with you as you went forward and started to look at founding new companies?
Carol: I learned to have tough conversations up front and to prioritize clarity in expectations with co-founders, ensuring everyone is aligned.

"I recommend every entrepreneur to have at least one work experience at a large company to learn what is good about that."

Carol: If computers didn't exist, I would still want to be involved in something that helps people – maybe in the healthcare space. It's essential to trust yourself and make adjustments when needed.