When David Feldt was a mechatronics engineering student at the University of Waterloo, he kept noticing the same pattern. Strong, practical ideas would come out of capstone projects, but many of them never made it past the classroom.
“I saw a steady stream of genuinely strong ideas emerge from capstone projects, many of which never progressed beyond the academic setting,” Feldt said. Over time, it made him question why more students weren’t pushing their work further into the real world.
That question eventually helped lead to 3E8 Robotics, a Waterloo-connected startup now based in San Francisco that’s building autonomous indoor delivery robots for condos, hotels, and hospitals. The goal is simple, use low-cost robotics to solve problems that people actually deal with every day.
For Feldt, entrepreneurship felt like the most direct way to turn his technical skills into real-world impact. “If I had the skillset to build something with real industry value, there was little reason not to pursue it,” he said. With a background in mechatronics engineering, building robots was already his strength.
Co-founder Sajeel Purewal came at it from a slightly different angle, driven by a belief that early in your career is the time to take risks. “When you’re young, you should work on hard problems that actually matter,” he said. That belief became stronger after talking to people who manage large buildings and hearing the same frustrations come up again and again, lost packages, inefficient workflows, and staff stretched thin.
Those conversations helped the team zero in on condos, hotels, and hospitals. In condos, dozens of packages arrive daily but often stay in the lobby due to security concerns. Hotels spend hours on repetitive room deliveries, and hospitals rely on already overworked staff to move supplies between floors.
3E8 Robotics wants to take on those tasks with robots that can work right away, without requiring buildings to change their infrastructure. “We’re freeing up staff time, improving security, and making service faster,” Purewal said.
One of the biggest challenges they’re tackling is something most people don’t think about: elevators. According to Feldt, there are very few autonomous robots in North America that can reliably use elevators without human help or building modifications. “Our goal is to have robots interact with elevators the same way humans do,” he said. Solving that problem is key to making robots actually useful in real indoor spaces.
Since launching, the team has moved fast. Feldt says one of his proudest moments was building their first fully functional robot in about two months. “It showed us what we’re capable of as a team,” he said. That process also helped them develop their own mechanical, electrical, and software systems, which now form the foundation of their technology.
For Purewal, securing pilot agreements after demoing in large San Francisco condo buildings stood out the most. “When a building is willing to bring your robot in and trust it, that means a lot,” he said, especially in industries that are usually cautious about new technology.
Being part of Founders Inc and working with angel investors has also influenced how the team operates. Feldt said the environment pushed them to move quickly and learn through real-world feedback rather than over-planning. At the same time, investor support helped them think more clearly about their go-to-market strategy. Purewal added that the credibility of Founders Inc made it easier to start conversations with property partners and customers.
The team also gained attention online after their launch video took off, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. Feldt thinks people connected with how real it felt. “It wasn’t staged in a lab, it was a robot doing real work in a real building,” he said. Purewal added that people also related to the story behind it, a small team of recent grads going all-in on an ambitious idea.
Of course, building a robotics startup hasn’t been easy. Feldt pointed out how tightly connected every part of a robot is, where a small issue in one system can affect everything else. Building trust with hotels and condos has also taken time, with the team spending hours on site, talking to operators, and running live demos.
Looking ahead, 3E8 Robotics is preparing for early 2026 pilot deployments, with a focus on making sure the robots are reliable and actually useful day to day. The team is also thinking beyond delivery, with plans to expand into a wider range of indoor tasks by adding robotic arms to their platform.
For current Waterloo students thinking about startups, both founders stress the importance of action. “Talk to people early and don’t wait for the perfect moment,” Purewal said. Feldt offered similar advice, test your idea in the real world and don’t be afraid of failure. “If you can’t find a way to break it, that’s usually a good sign,” he said.
