Subvolts take Home robots are closer than you think, driven by AI advances and new data collection methods. Nov 19, 2025 - Developers
- Learn how AI techniques like diffusion policy and imitation learning are applied to real-world robotics challenges.
- Business
- Understand the market potential and timeline for consumer home robots and the technologies enabling them.
- Everyday users
- Discover when you might realistically expect to have robots performing chores in your home.
This interview provides a direct look at a company aiming to bring advanced AI robotics into the home, discussing their technology and timeline.
Sunday Robotics: Scaling the Home Robot Revolution with Co-Founders Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi
Audio streams from Conviction. Your place is remembered on this device.
From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
Sarah Guo and Elad Gil host Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi, co-founders of Sunday Robotics, on No Priors to discuss the state of AI robotics. They explore challenges in developing home robots, the use of diffusion policy and imitation learning, and Sunday Robotics' plans for a 2026 in-home beta program, suggesting mass deployment is years away.
This episode talks about making robots that can do your chores at home. The founders of Sunday Robotics explain how new AI techniques and a special glove system help them teach robots new tasks, bringing us closer to having personal robots soon.
This episode offers insight into the practical challenges and technological advancements driving the home robot revolution. It's for anyone interested in the future of consumer robotics and AI's role in it. The discussion on diffusion policy and imitation learning connects to current research in large AI models, showing how these foundational AI concepts are being applied to physical systems, mirroring the progress seen in frontier labs.
- HostSarah Guo
- HostElad Gil
- GuestTony ZhaoCo-founder, Sunday Robotics
- GuestCheng ChiCo-founder, Sunday Robotics
- Episode Title: Sunday Robotics: Scaling the Home Robot Revolution with Co-Founders Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi
- Show: No Priors
- Length: 39 minutes
- Robot Focus: Memo, a general-intelligence personal robot for chores.
- Key Technologies: Diffusion policy and imitation learning.
- Beta Program: 2026 in-home beta program planned.
The robotics industry is on the cusp of its own “GPT” moment, catalyzed by transformative research advances. Enter Memo, the first general-intelligence personal robot, focused on taking on your chores to give back your time. Sarah Guo sits down with Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi, co-founders of Sunday Robotics, to discuss the state of AI robotics. Tony and Cheng speak to the challenges they faced while developing their technology, the innovative glove system employed to scale real-world data collection, and the impact of diffusion policy and imitation learning. Plus, they talk about their 2026 in-home beta program and why personal robots are only a handful of years away from mass deployment.
Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com
Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @tonyzzhao | @chichengcc | @sundayrobotics
Chapters:
00:00 – Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi Introduction
00:56 – State of AI Robotics
02:11 – Deploying a Robot Pre-AI
03:13 – Impact of Diffusion Policy
04:29 – Role of ACT and ALOHA
07:02 – Imitation Learning - Enter UMI
10:38 – Introducing Sunday
11:57 – Sunday’s Robot Design Philosophy
15:05 – Sunday’s Shipping Timeline
19:02 – Scale of Sunday’s Training Data
23:58 – Importance of Data Quality at Scale
24:56 – Technical Challenges
27:59 – When Will People Have Home Robots?
30:48 – Failures of Past Demos
32:34 – Sunday’s Demos
36:53 – What Sunday’s Hiring For
39:10 – Conclusion
- Diffusion policy
- Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi
- A type of AI that generates data, like images or robot movements, by gradually removing noise.
- Imitation learning
- Tony Zhao and Cheng Chi
- Teaching AI by showing it examples of how a task should be done, like a human demonstrating.
39 min1 h 1136 minQuestions people ask
- What is Sunday Robotics' main product?
- Sunday Robotics is developing Memo, described as the first general-intelligence personal robot focused on household chores.
- When can people expect to have home robots?
- The co-founders suggest that personal robots are only a handful of years away from mass deployment, with a 2026 in-home beta program planned.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Conviction.