HABIT recently launched!

Launch YC: HABIT: Neighborhood robotics — starting with car details.

"Reshaping neighborhood services with robotics."

TL;DR - HABIT is building a robotic car detail. Convenience of a tunnel wash + premium services of a human detailer.

Watch their launch video to learn more!

https://youtu.be/gOQL87xoUxk

Founded by Michael Trehan & Harish Palani

SWE / Investment Banker + Applied Scientist

  • Michael: prev. Sr. SWE at Radiant Nuclear ($150M+ raised); Investment Banker at JPM
  • Harish: prev. AI/ML Research Scientist at Twitch & Amazon
  • They met at UC Berkeley freshman year

Americans spend $20B a year on car washes

  • A single operator with locations in just 21 states earned $1B last year

But car details suck

  • Automatic washes scratch paint and don’t offer services like ceramic coating ($1,500+)
  • That’s why Americans spend $4.2B a year on manual details and hand washes
  • Human detailers are slow (hour-long wait), expensive ($50+), and inconsistent

So HABIT is building the first robotic car detail

  • Throughput and convenience of an automatic wash
  • Results and premium price point of a human — starting with exterior details

Car detailing is their first vertical

  • Small businesses across America don’t want to buy, maintain, or equip a humanoid fleet
  • HABIT centers will act as your neighborhood’s humanoid fleet manager

Learn More

🌐 Visit habitrobotics.com to learn more.
🤖 Car wash operators have been lining up for their system. So if you know a car wash operator (or are one), email the founders here.
👣 Follow HABIT on LinkedInX.

Posted 
May 27, 2025
 in 
Launch
 category
← Back to all posts  

Join Our Newsletter and Get the Latest
Posts to Your Inbox

No spam ever. Read our Privacy Policy
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.