Argus Systems

Harvard Business School

Industry: Technology

MBA Founding Student Name(s): Lisa Yan & Drew Borinstein

Brief Description of Solution: Data Infrastructure for Robotics and Spatial Intelligence

Funding Dollars: $3 Million

What led you to launch this venture? We recognized parallels between the autonomous vehicle and generative AI industries’ data infrastructure needs and knew that robotics would face similar challenges.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? We’re most proud of our “product graveyard” and how fast and adaptable we’ve been throughout our time working together. We even ended up winning a grant from the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital AI Office for a previous idea, but turned it down to pursue our current focus.

What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? We pivoted the company halfway through our second year at HBS after having spent several months focused on a particular idea. In the final months before graduation, we strengthened our conviction in our refreshed vision and worked closely together to steer the company in a new, more ambitious direction.

How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? HBS provided an incredible foundation for our startup journey. The Rock Summer Fellowship gave us the space to build full-time, and programs like the New Venture Competition offered invaluable feedback from experienced operators and investors. The broader entrepreneurship ecosystem gave us room to test ideas, learn quickly, and build the instincts we rely on today. Even after graduating, we continue to benefit from the HBS community–our relationships with professors, alumni, and classmates have compounded in ways that meaningfully accelerate our company’s progress. We’re deeply grateful for the support and excited to see HBS doubling down on entrepreneurship for the next generation of builders. 

Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? We were selected for the inaugural cohort of Founder Launch, an intense, hands-on class started by professors Reza Satchu and Shai Bernstein. Out of our initial cohort of ~25 teams, the majority of us have gone on to raise institutional funding exceeding $60 million, highlighting the strength of the shared founder experience and entrepreneurship presence at HBS.

What professor(s)made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Professors Reza Satchu, Shai Bernstein, Jeff Bussgang, and Jo Tango all invested significant amounts of time in us. Their willingness to push and challenge us throughout our founding journey made it clear that they cared about our success.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? We moved from Boston to San Francisco after graduation, but both ecosystems have contributed to our success.

In Boston, we’d like to shout out Q-Lab, a dual-use technology accelerator for Harvard and MIT ventures of which we’re also in the inaugural cohort. In a very short time, Q-Lab has created a tremendous community of entrepreneurs and technologists that we think will grow into one of the nation’s premier accelerators.

San Francisco, on the other hand, has proven its worth several times over in the short time we’ve been here. The ecosystem is electric if you’re focused on AI. There are too many examples to cite but the combination of conferences, events, and serendipitous run-ins have made it clear that this is the place to be for building in AI.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? Transform how AI understands and interacts with the real world

Looking back, what is the biggest lesson you wished you’d known before launching and scaling your venture? Persistence matters more than perfection, both in building a product and in choosing a cofounder. Ideas will change, but shared conviction and the willingness to keep building are what carry a venture forward.

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