Preferred Networks vs Addverb

Neither company has publicly disclosed a valuation, making a definitive size comparison difficult. Preferred Networks employs 100-500 people, while Addverb has 500+ employees.

Preferred Networks has raised more in total funding at $350M, compared to Addverb's $132M — a gap of $218M.

Preferred Networks holds the higher Awaira Score at 72/100, compared to Addverb's 68/100. The Awaira Score is a composite metric factoring in valuation, funding, stage, team size, and market presence — a 4-point gap that reflects meaningful differences in scale or traction.

Preferred Networks was founded by Toru Nishikawa in 2014. Addverb was founded by Sangeet Kumar in 2016. Visit each company's profile on Awaira for a full founder biography.

Preferred Networks: Preferred Networks develops deep learning technology applied to robotics, autonomous driving, and industrial applications, building neural network architectures for real-time edge inference in robot control, factory automation, and connected vehicle systems. The Tokyo company gained international recognition for early competition victories in autonomous navigation and robot manipulation challenges and developed its own deep learning framework, Chainer, which influenced the design of PyTorch before Chainer was eventually retired.\n\nThe company raised approximately $350 million including a landmark $105 million Series A from Toyota Motor Corporation and other strategic investors, making it one of the most valuable AI startups in Japan at the time of its fundraising. Preferred Networks collaborates with Toyota on autonomous driving AI, with NTT on communications AI, and with Fanuc on factory robot intelligence, creating a portfolio of deep technology industrial partnerships that provide both funding and deployment scale for its AI research.\n\nPreferred Networks operates in Japan industrial AI market where established relationships with major manufacturing and automotive companies provide a defensible position that international AI startups find difficult to penetrate through conventional sales approaches. The company research focus on edge AI inference for robotics aligns with Japan competitive strengths in manufacturing automation and precision robotics, markets where AI-enhanced robot intelligence is being adopted to address labour shortages and quality requirements that purely mechanical automation cannot satisfy. Addverb: Addverb is a warehouse automation and robotics company that designs, manufactures, and deploys mobile robots, automated storage systems, and AI-powered warehouse management software for e-commerce, retail, pharmaceuticals, and manufacturing companies. The company builds its robots domestically in India and offers integrated solutions ranging from autonomous mobile robots for goods-to-person picking to fully automated high-density storage and retrieval systems.\n\nThe company raised approximately $132M in Series C funding, including a significant investment from Reliance Industries, and has deployed automation solutions at major Indian and international customers including Flipkart, Coca-Cola, and Asian Paints. Addverb operates manufacturing facilities in India and has expanded its presence to Singapore, Germany, and the United States.\n\nWarehouse automation adoption in India is accelerating as e-commerce volumes grow and labor costs rise, creating a large addressable market for Addverb's domestically manufactured robotics solutions. The company's integrated hardware and software model and Reliance backing give it both the capital and the distribution network to compete with global warehouse robotics companies in India and international markets.

Preferred Networks was founded first in 2014, giving it 2 years of additional market experience. Addverb was founded later in 2016. In AI, even a year or two of head start can translate into significantly more training data, customer relationships, and institutional knowledge.

Preferred Networks has approximately 100-500 employees, while Addverb has approximately 500+. A larger team often signals higher revenue or venture backing, but in AI, smaller teams are increasingly capable of building at scale.

Yes, Preferred Networks and Addverb are direct competitors — both operate in the AI Robotics space and likely target overlapping customer segments. This comparison is especially relevant for buyers evaluating both platforms.