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HABIT

Conversational robots for physical businesses.

Every month, our robots greet thousands of Americans with a smile. They answer questions, upsell customers, and can be trained just like a human employee.
Active Founders
Michael Trehan
Michael Trehan
Founder
Building HABIT. Prev: SWE @ Radiant Nuclear; Investment Banking @ JP Morgan. Berkeley M.E.T. alum.
Harish Palani
Harish Palani
Founder
Building HABIT. Prev: AI/ML Research Scientist @ Amazon; led deep learning projects at Twitch. Berkeley M.E.T. alum.
Company Launches
HABIT: Neighborhood robotics — starting with car details.
See original launch post

TL;DR - HABIT is building a robotic car detail. Convenience of a tunnel wash + premium services of a human detailer.

Watch our launch video to learn more!

https://youtu.be/gOQL87xoUxk 

Team: SWE / Investment Banker + Applied Scientist

  • Michael: prev. Sr. SWE at Radiant Nuclear ($150M+ raised); Investment Banker at JPM
  • Harish: prev. AI/ML Research Scientist at Twitch & Amazon
  • We both met at UC Berkeley freshman year

Americans spend $20B a year on car washes

  • A single operator with locations in just 21 states earned $1B last year

But car details suck

  • Automatic washes scratch paint and don’t offer services like ceramic coating ($1,500+)
  • That’s why Americans spend $4.2B a year on manual details and hand washes
  • Human detailers are slow (hour-long wait), expensive ($50+), and inconsistent

So HABIT is building the first robotic car detail

  • Throughput and convenience of an automatic wash
  • Results and premium price point of a human — starting with exterior details

Car detailing is our first vertical

  • Small businesses across America don’t want to buy, maintain, or equip a humanoid fleet
  • HABIT centers will act as your neighborhood’s humanoid fleet manager

Our ask: Car wash operators have been lining up for our system. So if you know a car wash operator (or are one), hit us up! founders@habitrobotics.com

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HABIT
Founded:2025
Batch:Spring 2025
Status:
Active
Location:El Segundo, CA
Primary Partner:Diana Hu