San Francisco-based consumer robotics company Anki Inc. is shutting down after raising about $200 million in venture capital funding later.

Founded in 2010 by Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute graduates, Anki claimed to be dedicated to bringing artificial intelligence and consumer robotics to people’s everyday lives. During its time it launched a number of smartphone-controlled toys, none of which was properly artificially intelligent despite the hype and promise.

Anki’s first release was the Anki DRIVE, unveiled by Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook during his keynote at the 2013 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Described as part toy and part video game, Anki DRIVE consisted of smartphone-controlled cars that were claimed to have some level of AI.

Later products included Vector, a so-called home robot whose utility, according to the product page, included being able to hold a discussion about weather and work as a very expensive stopwatch.

While arguably a glorified toy company pretending to be an artificial intelligence startup, the company did employ nearly 200 people, all of whom are now out of a job.

“In a teary all-hands meeting on Monday morning, CEO Boris Sofman told his staff they would be terminated on Wednesday and that close to 200 employees would be paid a week of severance, according to people familiar with the matter,” Recode reported.

Sofman is also said to have told employees that a new round of VC funding had fallen through at the last minute.

The company is claimed to have “approached” $100 million in revenue in 2017 and perhaps even more unbelievably had fielded “acquisition interest” from companies that included Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc. and Comcast Corp.

Even among the hype of Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay area startups, at some point, a healthy dose of skepticism is required. Comcast wanted to buy a toy company? Sure, stranger things have happened.

Investors in the company included Two Sigma Ventures, Index Ventures, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Andreessen Horowitz, C4 Ventures and Silicon Valley Ventures.

Anki isn’t the first company in the consumer robotics market, such as it is, to fail. Mayfield Robotics Inc., the maker of another completely useless “home robot,” shut its doors in August.

Photo: Anki