TL;DR: If you are replacing Iris Automation, the closest options are ThereCraft, Efference, Boost Biomes. The table below compares 12 alternatives on what they do, stage, size and status.
Every alternative below is compared on what it actually does, not just its category — so you can see which one genuinely replaces Iris Automation (YC Summer 2016).
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The three closest alternatives to Iris Automation are:
| Alternative | What it does | Stage | Team | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ThereCraft | — | YC Summer 2017 | 1 | Active |
| Efference | — | YC Fall 2025 | 12 | Active |
| Boost Biomes | — | YC Summer 2019 | 12 | Inactive |
| Maquoketa Research | The intelligence layer for drones | YC Spring 2026 | 5 | Active |
| Passenger AI | Software for robotaxi operations. | YC Summer 2018 | 5 | Inactive |
| Arc | aerial videography | YC Summer 2012 | 2 | Inactive |
| Skyways | Creating a new form of air transportation to advance our civilization | YC Summer 2017 | 33 | Active |
| Normal | Testing and certifying the hardware of the future | YC Summer 2025 | 2 | Active |
| Nextera Robotics | DIDGE.ai | AI-native Robotics | YC Summer 2020 | 20 | Active |
| Deepnight | Building The Next Generation of Night Vision Devices | YC Winter 2024 | 16 | Active |
| Shone | Shone makes existing cargo ships autonomous through retrofit. | YC Winter 2018 | 8 | Inactive |
| Taobotics | Autonomous robots for retails. | YC Winter 2019 | 11 | Active |
It depends on your size. ThereCraft is the closest match on what Iris Automation actually does. If you need something more established, sort the table by team size — larger teams generally mean more support and a longer track record. If budget is the constraint, the earlier-batch companies are usually the ones still competing on price.
Iris Automation has been acquired, which often means pricing, roadmap or support changes. That is the usual reason people start looking at this list.
Every company here is Y Combinator-backed and was matched to Iris Automation on what it actually does — its own description of its product — rather than on a broad category label. Batch, team size and operating status come from the YC directory and are shown as-is. We do not rank by payment.
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