Cotan Labs

AI that works alongside people.

We build applied AI for care and everyday life, and develop the physical AI behind tomorrow’s robots.

Explore Cotan Labs

Our Story

Necessity often sparks innovation — and for our co-founder Varesh, it began with something as simple, yet vital, as a child’s lunch. At a community event, he was struck by the lack of healthy options for kids. A passionate cook with deep roots in traditional culinary practices, he started preparing wholesome meals every week, soon inspiring other parents to do the same.

But spending four hours in the kitchen every Saturday revealed a bigger challenge. The robotics engineer in him couldn’t ignore the question: what if healthy cooking could be automated? That spark became the seed of Kitchenoid.

As Varesh, Srikant, and Arun kept building, they saw a deeper opportunity: the same thinking powering food automation could extend to many sectors. What began as a personal mission evolved into Cotan Labs, a company focused on AI for care, physical AI, and autonomy research.

Today, Cotan Labs stands at the intersection of AI, robotics, and real-world problem-solving, driven by a commitment to meaningful innovation and long-term social impact.

About Us

Our Vision

A future where intelligent systems, digital and physical, give people more time, capacity, and care.

Our Mission

We build practical AI for demanding, real-world work, starting with software and extending into physical AI and robotics.

Core Values

Integrity
We act with honesty, transparency, and fairness. We treat everyone with dignity, valuing diversity and promoting a culture of inclusion in its true sense.
Stewardship
We are responsible stewards of the resources entrusted to us and consider the impact of our decisions on all stakeholders.
Excellence
We strive for the best solution and continuously seek opportunities to improve. We value data driven decisions.
Perseverance
We learn from setbacks, adapt with courage, and keep moving forward with purpose.
Innovation
We encourage creativity and thoughtful experimentation to find, embrace and solve problems and create value.

What We Do

From software to systems that move.

  1. Now

    AI for Care

    Family caregivers carry complex, long-term responsibilities with little support. We build AI tools that help them stay organized, informed, and supported. Our work is developed with clinical experts and designed to support people, not replace professional judgment.

    Talk to us
  2. Now

    Physical AI: Food Automation

    Our first physical AI work automates high-volume commercial cooking. It now lives at Kitchenoid, home of BotKitchen.

    Visit Kitchenoid ↗︎

How We Build

  • People stay in charge

    Our systems support human decisions; they don't make them alone.

  • Research first

    Every system starts with evidence and expert input.

  • Privacy, dignity, and choice

    We design for the people whose lives our tools touch.

  • Built to grow

    We start with what works today and extend it as needs and technology change.

Core Team

Dr. Srikant Devaraj

CEO and Chairman

Brings over 20 years of leadership in research, innovation, and large-scale program execution. As a Ph.D. economist, has directed multi-million-dollar initiatives across healthcare, education, and technology sectors, consistently delivering data-driven solutions that drive organizational growth and create measurable impact.

LinkedIn

Varesh Rangan

Chief Product Officer

20+ years of industry experience in Software and Hardware Automation Product Development with prior experience at Amazon Robotics, GoogleX-Mineral.ai, Meta-WhatsApp, and Tesco.

LinkedIn

Arun Chandrasekaran

Chief Technology Officer

Over 20 years of engineering leadership, with expertise in applied AI and physical AI, computer vision, biometrics & identity systems, and high performance computing.

LinkedIn

Investors

We build applied AI with near-term uses in care, and a longer-term roadmap in physical AI.

Get in Touch

Ready to learn more about our vision and investment opportunities? We would love to discuss how you can be part of our journey.

  • Email Us

    hi@cotanlabs.com

    We’ll get back to you shortly.

  • Location

    Fremont, CA

  • Investment Opportunities

    Contact us to learn more about participating