Paolo Pirjanian: Innovator and Visionary in Personal Robotics

From fleeing Iran on foot to building world-changing AI robotics, Paolo Pirjanian’s life story is one of grit, innovation, and relentless human connection.

In this episode of the [A] Growth Ventures Podcast, Hamlet Azarian sits down with Paolo Pirjanian, CEO of Embodied Inc. and creator of Moxie — the world’s most advanced social robot for child development.
Together, they explore Paolo’s harrowing refugee journey, the lessons he learned scaling and selling Evolution Robotics, and how he’s now solving one of humanity’s biggest challenges: bringing emotional intelligence to AI.

What We Explored with Paolo Pirjanian

Building Resilience from a Childhood of Uncertainty

Paolo recounts fleeing Iran through the mountains at age 14, and how surviving uncertainty and danger shaped his instincts, leadership style, and entrepreneurial risk tolerance.

NASA Dreams and the First Startup Leap

After achieving his childhood dream of working at NASA’s JPL, Paolo left stability behind to join Bill Gross’s Idealab — diving headfirst into entrepreneurship and the chaotic early world of robotics startups.

The Evolution Robotics Turnaround: Focus, Grit, and Execution

When Idealab was ready to shut down Evolution Robotics, Paolo spun it out, raised emergency capital, and pivoted to launch a successful consumer product — scaling from zero to $25M revenue in just 12 months before selling to iRobot.

Lessons from Big Company Culture: Why Innovation Dies Without Trust

Inside iRobot, Paolo witnessed firsthand how innovation slows without a culture of risk-taking and psychological safety — and how critical trust is for any high-performing organization.

Embodied and Moxie: A New Kind of AI

With Embodied, Paolo is creating emotionally intelligent robots that can support children’s development, especially those on the autism spectrum — unlocking a massive need in therapy, education, and healthcare.

Key Takeaways

01:30 — Fleeing Iran, surviving uncertainty, and learning to trust instincts
10:00 — Leaving JPL for Idealab and the early vision of Microsoft for Robotics
18:00 — How a bold spinout saved Evolution Robotics from collapse
27:00 — Launching a product during the 2008 crash and scaling to $25M
36:00 — The culture traps that kill innovation inside large companies
45:00 — Founding Embodied: solving emotional connection with AI
50:00 — How Moxie is helping kids through social-emotional learning
55:00 — Privacy, safety, and why trust is the foundation of responsible AI

Final Thoughts

Paolo Pirjanian’s journey reminds us that the greatest entrepreneurs are shaped not by comfort, but by resilience in the face of overwhelming uncertainty.
From surviving refugee life to scaling multi-million dollar startups, Paolo’s story is proof that trust — in yourself, in your team, and in the mission — is the ultimate catalyst for innovation.

If you’re serious about understanding the future of AI, human-robot interaction, and building companies that matter, this conversation is essential listening.

Connect with Paolo Pirjanian

You can connect with Paolo directly by emailing [email protected] — but make sure your message reflects genuine intent and curiosity! Or you can find him on LinkedIn.