A small team building the
tactile layer for robotics.
SoftShell is a deep-tech company building tactile infrastructure for robotics and embodied AI. We come from a materials, computational physics and computer engineering background, and we are building toward a category-defining tactile platform.
- Stage
- Prototype Gen 2
- Origin
- UIUC
- Discipline
- Hardware + AI
- Posture
- Design partner phase
Building tactile sensing as infrastructure, not as a component
SoftShell exists because the embodied AI stack will not finish without high-quality, deployable tactile sensing. We are building the sensing layer that makes the demonstration → deployment loop tractable for serious robotics teams.
Operating principles
Deployable, not just demoable
Every architectural decision is judged by whether it ships, not whether it demos.
Platform-agnostic
We integrate into the platforms our partners already build, not the other way around.
Bridge human and robot
We treat human demonstration and robot deployment as one continuous problem.
Tactile as infrastructure
We build for the long term: a tactile substrate every embodied system will depend on.
Founders
SoftShell is led by founders combining materials science, computational physics, computer engineering and applied econometrics. Both founders are based at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
Co-CEO · Co-Founder
Samkit Golchha
Computational Physics & Materials Science · UIUC
Samkit leads the materials and physics side of the SoftShell stack — sensing layer architecture, signal capture and conformability across complex geometry.
Co-CEO · Co-Founder
Ronak Mathrani
Computer Engineering & Econometrics · UIUC
Ronak leads the systems, pipeline and commercial side — on-sensor processing, integration architecture and the company's go-to-market motion.
Faculty collaboration and lab access
SoftShell operates with research collaboration support from faculty in tactile, materials and electrical engineering domains, with continuous access to the ECE Open Lab at UIUC.
Faculty collaborator
Prof. Craig Shultz
Tactile interfaces & haptics
Faculty collaborator
Prof. Cuinjang Yu
Flexible materials & electronics
Lab access
ECE Open Lab
University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Tactile intelligence is infrastructure, not a feature.
We treat the sensing layer the way platform companies treat compute: a substrate that compounds across many products and many years.
Useful beyond the lab
Built so a robotics team can deploy the same sensor that a research lab characterizes.
Bridge two worlds
Human demonstration and robot embodiment as one continuous design surface.
Compound, not ship-and-forget
Every shipped unit improves the dataset and the platform itself.
Partner deeply, scale slowly
We earn category position by deeply integrating with a small number of credible programs first.
Built in the lab. Positioned for deployment.
SoftShell is past first principles. Generation 1 hardware is complete, Generation 2 is underway, and the company is in active conversations with leading humanoid programs while operating from a faculty-supported lab environment.
- T-01COMPLETE
Generation 1 prototype
First end-to-end SoftShell sensing prototype complete: conformable layer, low-noise capture, and an integrated readout path.
- T-02IN PROGRESS
Generation 2 in development
Improved coverage, refined signal architecture and the foundation of the on-sensor processing pipeline. Currently iterating in lab.
- T-03IN PROGRESS
Active conversations with 1X Robotics
Engaged in active discussions with 1X Robotics on potential design partnership scope around tactile sensing for humanoid platforms.
- T-04IN PROGRESS
Faculty-advised, ECE Open Lab access
Operating with research collaboration support from faculty in the relevant tactile and materials domains, with continuous access to the ECE Open Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
If tactile infrastructure matters to what you're building, we should talk.
Whether you are a humanoid program, a prosthetics manufacturer, a research lab or an investor, SoftShell is in active conversations about design partnership and capital.